FaqREGenericCollectionMembers
When reverse engineering generic types, UML represents the generic instance as a derivation classifier. So, when a data member is an instance of a generic type, an association is created between the owning class and a derivation classifier. In NetBeans 5.5, UML do not treat collections any differently than any other generic type. So, if a data member is a collection instance, UML will still create an assocition between the owning class and a derivied classifier. There is an enhancement request to make reverse engineering handle collections in a more intuitive mannor.
NetBean 6
The enhancement request has been integrated into the NetBeans 6 code base. When a data member that is an instance of a generic is used, the association will be between the owning classifier and the type contained in the collection. This fix also works with parameter types.
Example 1
import java.util.ArrayList;
public class A
{
private ArrayList < B > b = null;
}
public class B
{
}
Reverse Engineering will now create a model that has an association between class A and class B. The association end that is connected to the class B will have a multiplicity of 0..*.
Example 2
import java.util.ArrayList;
public class A
{
private ArrayList < ArrayList < B > > b = null;
}
public class B
{
}
Reverse Engineering will now create a model that has an association between class A and class B. The association end that is connected to the class B will have a multiplicity of 0..*, 0..*.
