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| An association is a semantic or structural relationship between classifiers. An association has a name and consists of at least two association ends. The association ends are simply the end parts of the association where they connect to classifiers. It is the association's ends that may have a number of adornments that express the rich structural semantics of the relationship. |
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| An attribute is a string item listed in the attribute compartment of a classifier. An attribute defines an aspect or dimension of a classifier. An attribute may be assigned a value when an instance of a classifier is created. It is semantically equivalent to a classifier having a composite association with another classifier of the type specified in the attribute expression. |
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| An operation is a string item listed in the operation compartment of a classifier. The operations define the behavior of the classifier and the work that the classifier can carry out. An operation can take a list of parameters and return a type. Its visibility can be restricted and other factors, such as concurrency, can be specified using the property-string. |
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| A comment can contain textual information or graphical symbols that add additional information to a diagram or model. The information can take many forms from very formal, in the case of constraints, to conversational, in the case of working notes. Comments can be placed anywhere in a model or diagram, and simply by their proximity and alignment; they can be applicable to one or more elements. They may also be attached either to one or more elements by a comment attaching line. |
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| A dependency is a type of relationship that signifies that one element, or group of elements, acting as the client depends on another element or group of elements that act as a supplier. It is a weak relationship that denotes that if the supplier is changed the client may be affected. It is a unidirectional relationship. |
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| A class represents some concept, physical or otherwise, in the system being modeled. Classes describe sets of things or concepts that have similar attributes, behavior and relationships. They are a higher order concept to objects, which represent instances of the class. |
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| A package is a grouping of model elements. Packages group any set of zero or more model elements, including packages themselves, with the condition that no model element exists in more than one package. The package also defines the extent of names. |
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| A comment attaching line is a dashed line that is used to attach a comment (note) to a model element in a diagram. The comment (note) attaching line is not a UML relationship and has no semantics beyond signifying that the contents of a comment apply to the model element it is attached to. A comment may be attached to any number of model elements or may exist in isolation and by placement in proximity to one or more model elements signify that it applies to those elements. |
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| An artifact (keyword presentation) is a visual synonym of an artifact. It adds no additional semantics; it is simply an alternative presentation of the element. The standard form of this element is considered to be the artifact displayed with a small icon in the top left hand corner of a classifier rectangle. |
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