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Protected Visibility
When the value of protected is specified for the visibility property of an association end it signifies that the classifier at the source (far) end of the association and its descendants may traverse the relationship and use the role name in expressions.
Explanation
The visibility property of an association end specifies the visibility of the role when viewed from the classifier at the far (source) end of the association. It is an important semantic or structural property that describes the accessibility (visibility) of the role. The value protected means that the role (association end) can be traversed or accessed not only by the classifier that is attached at the far end but also by descendants of this classifier.
An association end is related to the value protected which specifies the visibility property because this attribute is added to an association end to increase the precision of the semantics, describing an aspect of the way the classifier participates in the association relationship.
The value public is related to the value of protected because they are both values that can be set for the visibility property of an association end. The value public is less restrictive than protected.
The value private is related to the value of protected because they are both values that can be set for the visibility property of an association end. The value private is more restrictive than protected.
The value package is related to the value of protected because they are both values that can be set for the visibility property of an association end. The value package is less restrictive than protected.
