The meaning of multiplicity of n-ary associations in UML

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Authors: Gonzalo Génova, Juan Llorens, Paloma Martínez

Tags: 2002, conceptual modeling

The concept of multiplicity in UML derives from that of cardinality in entity-relationship modeling techniques. The UML documentation defines this concept but at the same time acknowledges some lack of obviousness in the specification of multiplicities for n-ary associations. This paper shows an ambiguity in the definition given by UML documentation and proposes a clarification to this definition, as well as the use of outer and inner multiplicities as a simple extension to the current notation to represent other multiplicity constraints, such as participation constraints, that are equally valuable in understanding n-ary associations.

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