R1229 - modelint/shlaer-mellor-metamodel GitHub Wiki

R1229 / 1c:Mc-1

Method Call output is defined by zero or one Synchronous Output

Synchronous Output defines output of zero, one or many Method Call

---

A Method Call Output is defined only when the associated Method defines a Synchronous Output. So if a Method Call action invokes a Method without any output defined, there is no need for an output Data Flow.

A given Synchronous Output on some Method may be triggered by any number of Method Calls scattered throughout a Domain.

Note: We are considering limiting the invocation of a Method to Lifecycle Activities only as the concept of a Method is easily confused with an object-oriented method as defined by many programming languages. Our platform independent view of the world in Shlaer-Mellor doesn't really make use of this idea in the same way and the term 'method' was appropriated way back in the early UML days. We are beginning to regret this appropriation. 2025-9-16 -LS