A component diagram, also known as a UML component diagram, describes the organization and wiring of the physical components in a system. Component diagrams are often drawn to help model implementation details and double-check that every aspect of the system's required functions is covered by planned development. In the first version of UML, components included in these diagrams were physical: documents, database table, files, and executables, all physical elements with a location. In the world of UML 2, these components are less physical and more conceptual stand-alone design elements such as a business process that provides or requires interfaces to interact with other constructs in the system. The physical elements described in UML 1, like files and documents, are now referred to as artifacts. A UML 2 component may contain multiple physical artifacts if they naturally belong together.
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