Hi! I would like to ask what is the difference between a subsystem and a component in the UML sense?
A:
From here
The UML 2 specification is quite vague on how a subsystem is different from a component. The specification does not treat a component or a subsystem any differently from a modeling perspective. Compared with UML 1.x, this UML 2 modeling ambiguity is new. But there's a reason. In UML 1.x, a subsystem was considered a package, and this package notation was confusing to many UML practitioners; hence UML 2 aligned subsystems as a specialized component, since this is how most UML 1.x users understood it. This change did introduce fuzziness into the picture, but this fuzziness is more of a reflection of reality versus a mistake in the UML 2 specification.
So in short none.
Preet Sangha
2010-05-05 22:31:34
A:
I have to agree with Preet, but practically, a subsystem is larger than a component. I use components for libraries (either bought, pillaged, or built) and subsystems for a part of the whole system that performs a given integrated function. For example, in a blood processing device, the centrifuge driver and control would be a component. The integrated blood suction regulation (which includes safety mechanisms, motor control, user control, and communications) would be a subsystem.
Bruce
2010-05-05 22:53:41