Abstract

Current graphical object-oriented design notations are syntax-bound and semantic-free since they tend to focus on design representation rather than on the meaning of the design. This paper proposes a meaning for object-oriented designs in terms of object behaviours represented as constructions in category theory. A new design language is proposed, based on -notation, whose semantics is given by object behaviours. An example application is constructed as both a graphical design and using the design language. Submitted to BCS FACS Journal January 1999. 1 Introduction Current object-oriented design notations such as OMT [Run91], Booch [Boo94] and UML [UML98] are syntax-bound and semantic-free in the sense that they typically employ a large and rigorously enforceable collection of construction rules, but rarely provide a model to explain what is being constructed. Whilst this omission clearly does not prevent such notations being used effectively in the development of object-orie...

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