Association

Description

An Association implies that two model elements have a relationship, usually implemented as an instance variable in one or both Classes. The   connector can include named roles at each end, multiplicity, direction and constraints. You can also indicate the reading direction by adding a Name Direction Indicator arrow to a label on the connector, and define template binding parameters for an Association connector between a binding Class and a parameterized Class.

Associations act as the keys in providing possible classifiers for a structure of instance elements, and for automatically generating Property (Part) elements on the source SysML Block element in the Association.

When code is generated for Class diagrams, Associations become member variables in the target Class. The relationship is also used in Package, Object, Communication, Data Modeling and Deployment diagrams.

'Association' is the general relationship type between two elements; to connect more than two elements in an Association, you can use the N-Ary Association element. An Association connector can also be integrated with a Class element to form an Association Class, to allow the connector to have operations and attributes that define certain types of UML relationship.

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OMG UML Specification:

The OMG UML specification (UML Superstructure Specification, v2.1.1, p. 41) states:

An association specifies a semantic relationship that can occur between typed instances. It has at least two ends represented by properties, each of which is connected to the type of the end. More than one end of the association may have the same type.

An end property of an association that is owned by an end class or that is a navigable owned end of the association indicates that the association is navigable from the opposite ends; otherwise, the association is not navigable from the opposite ends.