InUnified Modeling Language (UML) 2.5.1, an Element[1] is "a constituent of a model. As such, it has the capability of owning other Elements."[1]
InUML 2.4.1, an element is an abstract class with no superclass.[2] It is used as the superclass or base class, as known by object-oriented programmers, for all the metaclasses in the UML infrastructure library. All other elements in the UML inherit, directly or indirectly from Element. An Element has a derived composition association to itself to support the general capability for elements to own other elements. As such, it has no additional attributes as part of its specification.
An association describes a set of tuples of typed instances.[3]
The Element class belongs to the base package in the UML called the Kernel. This is the package that contains the superclasses that make up the superstructure of the UML.
Subclasses of Element provide semantics appropriate to the concept they represent. The comments for an Element add no semantics but may represent information useful to the reader of the model.[2]
Updated for UML version 2.4.1. Further updated for UML version 2.5.1.
Weilkiens, Tim; Oestereich, Bernd (2007). UML 2 Certification Guide. Morgan Kaufmann. ISBN 978-0-12-373585-0.
"Element". Unified Modeling Language 2.5.1. OMG Document Number formal/2017-12-05. Object Management Group Standards Development Organization (OMG SDO). December 2017. p. 43.
