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We strove to be precise in our use of natural language, in this case English. For example, the description of UML semantics
includes phrases such as “X provides the ability to…? and “X is a Y.? In each of these cases, the usual English meaning is
assumed, although a deeply formal description would demand a specification of the semantics of even these simple phrases.
The following general rules apply:
• When referring to an instance of some metaclass, we often omit the word “instance.? For example, instead of saying “a Class instance? or “an Association instance,? we just say “a Class? or “an Association.? By prefixing it with an “a? or “an,? assume that we mean “an instance of.? In the same way, by saying something like “Elements? we mean “a set (or the set) of instances of the metaclass Element.?
• Every time a word coinciding with the name of some construct in UML is used, that construct is meant.
• Terms including one of the prefixes sub, super, or meta are written as one word (e.g., metamodel, subclass).