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Structured Activity

Description

Structured Activity elements are used in Activity diagrams. A Structured Activity is an activity node that can have subordinate nodes as an independent Activity Group. You can set an option to ensure that no other Activities or their side effects  interfere with this Activity's processing.

Enterprise Architect provides a number of  forms of Structured Activity, both basic and specialized, for creating composite Activity elements quickly and simply.

Access    Diagram | Diagram Toolbox | More tools... | UML | Activity
 

Topic

Description

See Also

Create Structured Activities

When you drag a Structured Activity icon from the Toolbox onto a diagram, a short menu displays from which you select one of the following options:

Loop Node
Conditional Node
Other
 

The first two options specifically create a Loop Node or Conditional Node.

The Other option displays the New Structured Activity dialog, on which you can select to create one of the five following types of Structured Activity element.

 

Loop Node

Conditional Node

Simple Composite Activity

 

Provides a Composite Activity element with a child Activity diagram.

Activity

Composite Elements

Loop Node

Represents a sequence of Actions and Activities that are to be repeated within the object.

 

Loop Node

Conditional Node

Represents an arrangement of Actions and Activities where choice determines which Activities are performed.

 

Conditional Node

Structured Activity Node

Represents an ordered arrangement of executable Activity nodes (Actions, Decisions, Merges and so on) that can include branched and nested nodes; this is the base element from which the other types of Structured Activity are derived.

 

Structured Node

Sequential Node

Represents a sequential arrangement of executable Activity nodes.

 

Sequential Node

Nodes as Composite Elements

Loop Node and Conditional Node elements are composite elements, but the child element structures are created on the same diagram as the node element itself (in the same way as for a Composite State). Therefore:

The composite element symbol is not set
You cannot display a separate child diagram
The Show Composite Diagram facility is not available for these nodes

You could set these nodes as 'normal' composite elements and create and open a child diagram, but you should not use Loop or Conditional Nodes in this way.

The Show Composite Diagram facility is also not available on the Structured Activity Node, as this is the base element for the Loop and Conditional Nodes. You can, however:

Use the Sequential and Structured Activity nodes as composite elements, and
Display a child diagram structure on its parent Sequential node

 

Composite State

Toolbox icon

e_SubActivity

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