I often draw a dataflow on a sheet of paper. Even the planning of my little tools is done on a paper.
There exists UML.
The problem is - I don't like it. All the tools I've used (Visio and a lot of online editors) are just not flexible for my hands. With a pencil you can easily draw shapes and connect them, describe them.
What could you suggest in order to create a diagram of data-flow, sequence diagram, etc. in the fastest, most natural and easiest way except on the computer not the paper :)
****Useful links as posted in comments:** SO Link #1 SO Link #2
Right now I am curious about 2 things and one of them was in my minds quite long ago:
1) Mindmap - I've tried a while ago, quite liked it but abandoned. Hoever will give it another try
2) Whiteboard. It would be the easiest and most natural method, except that taking a photo and storing it somewhere on a computer would make the process repetitive and boring.
Has anyone other interesting ideas? I would really like to hear what others are using to design their software and the progress of it.
Thanks a lot!
Why do you want to hand-draw the UML at all whether it's on paper or on the computer?
I agree that you need a model to represent the design. But even in large projects of about 500 man-months, I observed that only 3-4 sequence diagrams really matter and have a chance of surviving the entire lifecycle of the application. Those 3-4 sequence diagrams (and class diagrams that represent their static time relationships), usually represent the high level design of the application.
Or, look at it this way:
Any decent enterprise application will not have 20 different call flows. There will be one or two generic (or abstract) call flows, which all the concrete use cases implement. Let us take a simple Struts / EJB application. The generic flow will be something like - an action class calling a validator and then calling a stateless session bean, which in turn calls a domain class, which will call a DAO. All the use cases of the application just implement this flow with concrete classes that are specific to that use case.
Do you agree?
If you do not, I would like to hear about applications that have 20 different call flows and survived for 5 years after the first release.
If you agree with me, we are boiling down to 3-4 class and sequence diagrams even for large enterprise applications comprising several thousand classes. Why is it a big deal how you draw and maintain those 3-4 diagrams?
You might say that you want to document all the use cases for training or documentation purposes. During my last 14 years of experience in the real enterprise software world, I don’t remember seeing well 'maintained' UML documentation. First of all, good documents are difficult to produce and are not found that often. Secondly, they are out of sync with the code most of the time. Most of my experience is with large banks, insurance companies, Auto companies, etc. Those environments are just too hectic and their resources are limited (really? Are we talking banks? Yes, difficult to believe, but true) for 'maintaining' good documentation.
So am I suggesting that we get rid of UML?
No. We need visual models to represent complex systems. Human brains seem to be at their best when processing visuals. The visual cortex, which is responsible for processing the visual images, is the largest system in the human brain.
So what is a reasonable solution to easily produce and maintain UML models?
Probably we are better off using the current crop of UML tools to draw those 3-4 high-level UML diagrams. If you hate using them, check option 3 below.
For the diagrams at the next level of abstraction (any useful models should have different levels of abstraction), generate the UML from source code. You can generate both class and sequence diagrams.
In this age of agile methodologies, why not just write the shell classes and generate those 3-4 high-level UML class and sequence diagrams as well? This way there won't be any UML to maintain at all.
The source code is the truth.
Can you argue against that statement? If not, why not generate the models from the source code itself? I am not suggesting the round-trip engineering, by the way. I am just suggesting a one way trip - from code to models.
There are 2 main problems however with the generated UML.
When we hand draw a class diagram, we show the relations between the classes involved in a scenario. Most existing class diagram generating tools allow the user to drop the Java classes (the source code) into the tool and the tool automatically shows the relations between the classes. The problem here is, how does one know about the classes involved in a scenario to begin with?
The second problem is the verboseness of the generated diagrams. There are tools available to generate runtime sequence and class diagrams for a scenario. But the diagrams are often very verbose and defeat the purpose of models, whose purpose is to highlight the important aspects and filter out unimportant details.
Good UML generating tools should address both the above problems. There are a few tools in the Java domain that try to address these problems. Check the discussions below:
What tools should I use to visualize structure of my code
Are there any tools for detecting architectural and design patterns in code?
I hope I answered the original question:
Has anyone other interesting ideas? I would really like to hear what others are using to
design their software and the progress of it.
I am the author of the runtime UML generating tool MaintainJ, but I tried to address the original question in an objective manner. Your comments are welcome.
There are various tools that allow you to create diagrams based on textual input. There's some up-front learning in that you need to learn the syntax. However it's not hard to do. Once you have, creating diagrams can be very fast. There are some downsides; in most cases there's limited ability to change the layout/style. Significance of that will depend on whether you like their style or not.
There's a growing number, here's a few you might want to look at:
UMLet: desktop app, supports most UML plus various other diagrams. Can also create your own custom shapes & connectors. FOSS.
WebSequenceDiagrams.com: online sequence diagrams.
TextUML: desktop app. Focus is executable models, auto-generates class diagrams. FOSS. It also has an online commercial sibling.
hth.
I like using a whiteboard and a camera. For even more flexibility, use post-it notes on the whiteboard.
I use ER diagrams (on the whiteboard) to model my data, and message sequence charts (on the whiteboard) to model the data flow. I'll also do quick mockups of UI pages on the whiteboard.
Asides from that, I use Ruby/Rails to code server side and HTML/CSS/jQuery/JS on the client.
If even Visio is not flexible enough, I'd suggest a digital whiteboard or touchscreen with a whiteboard software. After some accommodation you could probably use a simple tablet (without display) as well - they are really cheap.
Regarding pure software: we are trying to achieve a "pen-like" input method with UML Lab, but it currently supports Class Diagrams only...
I think that the UML and code should be mixed using a class diagram. You model your architecture with the class diagram (e.g package, classes etc....) then you code your business finally multiple iterations between code and model.
I think that UML should more be oriented to code but not to focus on textual input.
The problem with standard languages, such as UML, is that you have to invest a considerable effort to learn the language and the modeling tools. These languages are defined by an expert consortium, e.g. OMG, that proposes a language specification suited to the biggest overlap of design problems in a certain domain.
Why not defining your own language that fits exactly to your needs and your specific problem? Such languages are termed Domain-Specific Languages (DSL). Instead of investing into learning a language that's complex, you invest into the definition of a languages that exactly suits your needs.
There are numerous approaches that support the definition of DSLs. The most widespread is the Generic Eclipse Modeling System (GEMS). Personally, I made great experience with GrGen due to its versatility and the possibility to automate working steps using graph transformation.
No. There are various other ways. UML is just an option.
Pen and Paper Prototyping is a great option too, it doesn't have to follow UML.
Mind Map is another great way.
For more adaptive software processes, UML use is encouraged to be as minimum as possible. Such as, teams that practice Agile or XP tend to use UML less and they would rather rely more on informal means to conceptualize the software. In a rigid structured company, UML can be rigorously followed.
I was wondering how you draw diagrams in Unified Modeling Language for your project design? By hand on paper or some editors on computer? It will be great if there are some convenient editors or other gadgets for help. I am programming under Windows and Ubuntu.
Thanks and regards!
I used Sparx Enterprise Architect.
I reverse the java project and then just drag and drop from the Package Explorer to the diagram. When I have finished to present the existing classes I then add UML classes in the diagram. No code generation or model driven, just UML graphical representation mixing existing classes and abstract classes. I give my diagrams to the team and let them integrate it.
I am very lazy when modeling :-)
(source: forum-omondo.com)
I can see my classes and navigate from one package to another showing associations, inheritances and dependencies dynamically. No need to create a diagram per view, I prefer to use the show hide links and directly navigate in the java code and model from the same diagram it is easier and a lot more powerful because interactive.
(source: forum-omondo.com)
(source: forum-omondo.com)
Just using the class contextual menu I can navigate. Really cool
(source: forum-omondo.com)
I used Poseidon for UML for quite a while.. not that bad, it's just a little bit slow since it's written in Java.
If I remember correctly it also has a community license that can be obtained for free..
I would vote for StarUML
maybe its not brand new, but it does the job!
It works under Windows.
read more about StarUML
I use Dia for my diagramming needs. It's open source and cross platform so you can switch between OS's without worrying about which format your diagrams were in. It exports to several different image types and has a Portable version (for Windows) as well.
I wanted to know what tools (preferably free) can be used to layout a collection of objects and their relationship - simple relationship like members referring each other, inheritance, attributes et.al. I would prefer a tool with which I can create and update the diagram as quickly as possible.
I'm not familiar with UML, but it's probably what I'm asking about.
Mock4U
alt text http://typo3.webetiser.com/fileadmin/sites/RainerEschen/downloads/mock4u/class-diagram.png
Take a look at this page on AlternativeTo, there's a lot of different options listed. Among them:
Microsoft Visio
Inkscape
Dia
OmniGraffle
OpenOffice Draw
Creately
etc.
Umlet
http://www.umlet.com/
You also have StarUML, wich is open source and similar to Rational Rose, only a bit simpler.
ArgoUML is a good free tool.
I really like Dia. It even has a Portable edition!
It's small, fast, cross OS, simple to use, and has a lot of built in elements (specially for UML modelling).
The only problem I can foresee for you is that it follows The GIMP's GUI design (separated window for the toolbox). I happen to like it, but many people hate it.
Keep in mind that this screenshots are quite old:
(source: gnome.org) !
It also can be scripted with Python.
Visio 2003 uses UML 1.4, which means that some stereotypes from UML 2.0 simply don't exist, and they need to be modeled by freehand drawing (I may as well be using Photoshop). Does anyone know of an update from Microsoft or an addon to include UML 2.0 (complete - not just class diagrams) in Visio 2003?
I found this package: http://www.sdl.sandrila.co.uk/ but judging by their "example" screenshots, I'm going to stay away. If they don't know how to use UML, I'd be surprised if they could implement it correctly ;)
This set of Visio stencils and templates for UML 2.0 is excellent:
http://softwarestencils.com/uml/index.html
In case it wasn't clear, Microsoft will never update Visio support of UML. For some time, they have not considered Visio to be a Software Engineering tool.
I don't blame them. It didn't even do a good job with the parts of UML it "supported".
I'm using the UML 2.0 symbols from Pavel Hruby. Maybe you'll find them useful as well.
The nice thing about Visio is that it is just a drawing program and not a modeling environment. So just make up your own lines. Visio can draw just about any line time you can think of. But the real answer is the one already checked. Now that Microsoft "supports" UML maybe they will provide better tooling.
Those screenshots are only example diagrams, Sandrila SDL doesn't enforce that level of rigour to the diagrams.
I found this package: http://www.sdl.sandrila.co.uk/ but judging by their "example" screenshots, I'm going to stay away. If they don't know how to use UML, I'd be surprised if they could implement it correctly ;)
That seems a bit harsh - of the handful of screen-shots which are UML2 (as opposed to being examples of the other notations the tool supports, such as SDL, MCL and TTCN), which do you think are incorrect? It's quite ugly as diagrams go, and uses aliased fonts and lines, but that's a Visio feature rather than anything to do with the template.
In terms of what you can do with the UML, you are much better off using a real UML2 tool than Visio. Enterprise Architect is a cheap one which does have a real UML model behind it. (It would be nice to be able to say that the more expensive ones have fewer UI bugs and gotchas, but that isn't really the case, and most lag far behind the simpler graphical tools like OmniGraffle or Visio in polish and usability)
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I'm trying to choose a tool for creating UML diagrams of all flavours. Usability is a major criteria for me, but I'd still take more power with a steeper learning curve and be happy. Free (as in beer) would be nice, but I'd be willing to pay if the tool's worth it. What should I be using?
Some context: Recently for graduate school I researched UML tools for usability and UML comprehension in general for an independent project. I also model/architect for a living.
The previous posts have too many answers and not enough questions. A common misunderstanding is that UML is about creating diagrams. Sure, diagrams are important, but really you are creating a model. Here are the questions that should be answered as each vendor product/solution does some things better than others. Note: The listed answers are my view as the best even if other products support a given feature or need.
Are you modeling or drawing? (Drawing - ArgoUML, free implementations, and Visio)
Will you be modeling in the future? (For basic modeling - Community editions of pay products)
Do you want to formalize your modeling through profiles or meta-models? OCL? (Sparx, RSM, Visual Paradigm)
Are you concerned about model portability, XMI support? (GenMyModel, Sparx, Visual Paradigm, Altova)
Do you have an existing set of documents that you need to work with? (Depends on the documents)
Would you want to generate code stubs or full functioning code?(GenMyModel, Visual Paradigm, Sparx, Altova)
Do you need more mature processes such as use case management, pattern creation, asset creation, RUP integration, etc? (RSA/RSM/IBM Rational Products)
Detailed Examples: IBM Rational Software Architect did not implement UML 2.0 all the way when it comes to realizes type relationships when creating a UML profile, but Visual Paradigm and Sparx got it right.
Ok, that was way too detailed, so a simpler example would be ArgoUML, which has no code generation features and focuses on drawing more than the modeling aspect of UML. Sparx and Visual Paradigm do UML really well and generate code well, however, hooking into project lifecycles and other process is where RSM/RSA is strong.
Watch out for closed or product specific code generation processes or frameworks as you could end up stuck with that product.
This is a straight brain dump so a couple details may not be perfect, however, this should provide a general map to the questions and solutions to looking into.
NEW - Found a good list of many UML tools with descriptions. Wiki UML Tool List
For sequence diagrams, only, try websequencediagrams.com. It's a freemium (free for the basic tasks, paid for advanced features) product, and lets you quickly bang out a diagram without any fussing around with lines and stencils.
Alice->Bob: Authentication Request
note left of Bob: Bob thinks about it
Bob->Alice: Authentication Response
For me it's Enterprise Architect from Sparx Systems. A very rounded UML tool for a very reasonable price.
Very strong feature list including: integrated project management, baselining, export/import (including export to html), documentation generation from the model, various templates (Zachman, TOGAF, etc.), IDE plugins, code generation (with IDE plugins available for Visual Studio, Eclipse & others), automation API - the list goes on.
Oh yeah, don't forget support for source control directly from inside the tool (SVN, CVS, TFS & SCC).
I would also stay away from Visio - you only get diagrams, not a model. Rename a class in one place in a UML modelling tool and you rename in all places. This is not the case in Visio!
For my simple & short UML working,
I've used this tool:
StarUML - http://staruml.sourceforge.net/en/
Great free software for UML drawing.
Although the original Star UML is no longer maintained, there's now a fork called White Star UML, which is actively developed.
As I usually use UML more as a communication tool rather than a modeling tool I sometimes have the need to flex the language a bit, which makes the strict modeling tools quite unwieldy. Also, they tend to have a large overhead for the occasional drawing. This also means I don't give tools that handle round-trip modeling well any bonus points. With this in mind...
When using Visio, I tend to use these stencils for my UMLing needs (the built in kind of suck). It could be that I have grown used to it as it is the primary diagramming tool at my current assignment.
OmniGraffle also has some UML stencils built in and more are available at Graffletopia, but I wouldn't recommend that as a diagramming tool as it has too many quirks (quirks that are good for many things, but not UML). Free trial though, so by all means... :)
I've been trying out MagicDraw a bit, but while functional, I found the user interface distracting.
Otherwise i find the Topcased an interesting project (or group of projects). Last I used it it still had some bugs, but it worked, and seems to have evolved nicely since. Works great on any Eclipse-enabled platform. Free as in speech and beer :)
As for the diagramming tool Dia, it's quite ugly (interface and resulting drawings), but it does get the job done. An interesting modeling tool free alternative is Umbrello, but I haven't really used it much.
I definitely agree with mashi that whiteboards are great (together with a digital camera or cellphone).
Probably some of the nicest tools I've used belong to the Rational family of tools.
You may be looking for an automated tool that will automatically generate a lot of stuff for you. But here's a free, generally powerful diagramming tool useful not only for UML but for all kinds of diagramming tasks. It accepts as input and outputs to a wide variety of commonly used file formats. It's called yEd, and it's worth a look
Visual Paradigm for UML http://content.usa.visual-paradigm.com/websiteimages/images/products/vpuml60/vpumltitle.gif
I'm very fond of Visual Paradigm for UML It's very powerful and has a free Community Edition and cheap Personal Edition as well.
Agilian http://content.usa.visual-paradigm.com/websiteimages/images/products/ag10/agtitle.gif
For Agile modeling there's also Agilian which is a bit more flexible, adds extra features to support smartboards and knows mind-mapping as well.
The thing I like most about their products is the flexibility. I'm using Enterprise Architect at work nowadays but I think it's not smart enough. I want to be able to quick-brainstorm some sequence diagrams and have the application keep my model up-to-date in the background, something VPUML does a very good job at.
In my opinion it's way better than Enterprise Architect, though that is a great tool as well :)
Take a look at BOUML: multiplatform (QT), works pretty well and supports colaborative work.
BOUML is a free UML 2 tool box (under development) allowing you to specify and generate code in C++, Java, Idl, Php and Python.
BOUML runs under Unix/Linux/Solaris, MacOS X(Power PC and Intel) and Windows.
From Wikipedia:
The releases prior to version 4.23 are free software licensed under GPL. BOUML 5 and later is proprietary software.
If you're looking to get out the door and working on UML without having to learn a complex new tool I would check out Violet UML. I've used it to some pretty great success in the past.
PlantUML is an open-source markup-language-to-UML-diagram tool in Java that deserves to be mentioned here. It ranks high on the usability scale because of its intuitive syntax for the various diagrams and diagram components.
Dia is a possible choice. It's definitely not the best tool, but it is functional.
Enterprise Architect from Sparx systems is the best tool I've used. A bit expensive at $199 (professional edition), but IMO it's worth it.
I will add UMLet which I haven't tried yet, but have been selected at my office to start doing diagrams.
Looks simple, diagrams aren't sexy, but it seems quite complete with regard to the kind of diagrams you can do. Seems to have good export capabilities too (important!), is flexible can support custom components) and can be used as Eclipse plugin.
Astah UML (ex-JUDE) is pretty good.
I haven't been able to find a top-notch free UML diagramming tool, but if you're interested in pure diagramming, as opposed to round-trip-engineering, I'd go with Microsoft Visio. If you want full round-trip engineering, Rational Rose.
This list of UML tools on Wikipedia might also come in handy.
Pen and paper. If you can get the scan into a vector format, that may be useful when making minor amendments.
You should try Creately. Runs in your browser and can do team collaboration.
supports sequence diagrams, class, ER, usecase etc. works great and has a free version available.
Creately.com
You can also check out Lucid Chart for uml and other types of diagramming.
Don't forget yuml.me, I love it.
http://plantuml.sourceforge.net/index.html
In my practice i use Sequence Diagram Editor. it is really fast and helpful tool. the one thing i don't like about it is that it is commercial product, not free.
I like VisualParadigm mentioned before in this thread. It's powerful and easy to use I think it gives most power comparing to other tools.
If you need something simple, quick and easy (and free) there is a great tool called UMLet - I highly recommend this. I've tried many of UML diagramming tools and this the simplest one (and it still allows to do great diagrams). This is my choice:)
Obviously if you are serious about UML in the long run you need to use a software UML tool like the ones suggested in the other answers, but I've found that a whiteboard is one of the best tools for UML diagramming, especially during the design phase, or when you are exploring different alternatives. Nothing beats a whiteboard for speed/flexibility in my mind. They are also great for collaboration assuming you are collocated physically.
In my opinion StarUML is the best.
I can't believe no one has mentioned NetBeans UML Editor, it's great and satisfied all of my Java based UML requirments.
This after I tested JDeveloper UML, ArgoUML and StarUML.
I recently conducted a poll "What UML Tools do you use?" in my blog. NetBeans UML was was the top opensource choice and Enterprise Architect was the top commercial choice.
You can create UML class, sequence, component, use case, and activity diagrams in Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate. You can link these diagrams to Team Foundation work items so you can plan and track development and test work. You can also create sequence, dependency graphs, and layer diagrams from code and use Architecture Explorer to browse and explore your solution.
I've posted more links on my profile for more info.
You might want to take a look at MagicDraw or Visual Paradigm for UML. Both offer community editions that, of course, don't span the full feature range, but may well be sufficient if you want to create diagrams only and not generate code or do full round-trip engineering.
Rational and Together/J are best-of-breed products, but expensive.
In my experience, I've enjoyed Eclipse Omondo and Sparx Enterprise Architect. Omondo integrates nicely with Eclipse for code generation, and has a very intuitive feel. However, it is strongly tied to Java. Sparx is a good tool for the price point, but lacks the full range of UML 2.0 diagrams.
Do NOT bother with Poseidon. It is buggy, bloated, and unusuable for all intents and purposes.
For sequence diagrams you can also try Trace Modeler. It's not free but it has a great interface, very friendly and productive. You can use it on any platform.