How to transform UML neg into a useful construct

Abstract

In UML, the operator neg is used to specify negative, or unwanted, system behaviour. We agree that being able to specify negative behaviour is important. However, the UML neg is currently not wellsuited for this purpose, the main problem being that a single operator is used with several different meanings depending on the context. In this paper we investigate some alternative definitions of neg. We also propose a solution in which neg is replaced by two new operators for specifying negative behaviour.