Generalization   Generalization is a relationship of classification between a more general element (parent) and a more specific element (child). The head of the arrow is attached to the "parent" and the tail is attached to the "child". It is a taxonomic relationship that can exist between a number of types of UML elements including classifiers and associations.

Explanation

Generalization is a relationship of family. It defines a connection between a "parent", the more general element and a "child", the more specific element. Whenever commonality exists between a group of elements the generalization relationship can be used to factor out the common behavior or attributes. It is what is more colloquially referred to as "inheritance". (The term inheritance is best avoided as it also has a specific meaning in many programming languages.) Most commonly generalization is used between classes, but can be used between any two or more classifiers of the same type, such as nodes, components, subsystems, actors, use cases.

Related Entries

Use Case Generalization  Type of A use case generalization is related to generalization because it is a specific example of the usage of the generalization relationship. It is a relationship indicating that the use cases belong to the same family. They share commonality, and are associated with the same set of actors. The parent use case (arrowhead end) is the more general form of the child (tail end).

Actor Generalization  Type of An actor generalization is related to generalization because it is a specific example of the usage of the generalization relationship. It is a relationship indicating that the parent actor (arrowhead end) is more general than the child (tail end). Both actors share commonality and communicate with the same set of use cases.