Object Diagram when to use aggregation

[justgnohUG]

From these 2 code blocks in Week 8 Tutorial,

(Stock Item code block is included for relevancy)

Alternatively, visit https://nus-cs2103-ay2021s2.github.io/website/schedule/week8/tutorial.html for full context.

The Actual Question I would like to clarify the relationship between Item and Inventory.

Given that Inventory has a List<Item> reference, I was wondering if Aggregation is possible here in the Object Diagram

PS: Diagram updated as aggregation direction was incorrect initially.

[damithc]

Yes, you can. That said, do note that we recommend not to use aggregation at all, in class or object diagrams. Aggregation doesn't add much value; it's just noise.

[justgnohUG]

Thank you for the reply Prof @damithc,

That said, I would think most of the time in the Exam especially, aggregation can be substituted for other forms of association, and a need for aggregation would be close to unnecessary?

Not trying to sniff out Exam questions, but more curious of the situations we would ever be "forced" to utilize aggregation.

[damithc]

In the exam, we do not expect you to use aggregation symbol when drawing class/object diagrams. However, you should still be able to interpret the aggregation symbol in a given diagram.