The Collaboration Diagram

The collaboration diagram is the direct cousin of the sequence diagram. The two differ only in their perspectives. The collaboration diagram has an “on top looking down” view of the interaction. It focuses more on the actual objects and their roles in the interaction than on the linear flow of time expressed in the sequence diagram. Figure 7-11 shows a collaboration diagram for the happy path of Process Orders.

Figure 7-11. Collaboration diagram for the Process Orders happy path

Here's where sequence numbers become important. Whereas the sequence diagram works fine without them, the collaboration diagram is useless without ...

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