Beginning C# 2008 Objects: From Concept to Code

10.3. Determining Associations Between Classes

Once we've settled on an initial candidate class list, the next step is to determine how these classes are interrelated. To do this, we go back to our narrative documentation set (which has grown to consist of the SRS requirements specification, use case descriptions, and data dictionary) and study verb phrases this time. These verb phrases indicate the capabilities or functions that the classes will have to implement. Our goal in looking at verb phrases is to choose those that suggest structural relationships, as were defined in Chapter 5—associations, aggregations, and inheritance—but to eliminate or ignore those that represent (transient) actions or behaviors. (We'll focus on behaviors, but from ...