This post was published 4 years 3 months 28 days ago and as such probably does not reflect my current opinions, knowledge or ability.
I’ve messed with UML (Unified Modeling Language) briefly in the past, but this week was the first time I’ve tried to make diagrams for a project I actually intend to work through. This time, I’m also taking the sensible route of using Umbrello, rather than making some pretty dodgy looking sketches on paper.
I decided to take a rough plan for the structure of one of my pieces of coursework that I had on paper and create a class diagram from it. After a few minutes of playing around in Umbrello my first thoughts were: This is really fun! It’s much easier to correct mistakes and make changes than working on paper, meaning I could focus on my plan.
It was a while before I noticed how much more making the diagram was forcing me to think about how I was going to organise everything, and build a much better picture in my mind of what was going on. Even if the diagram itself doesn’t prove useful later on, I’m sure the way it made me consider the structure of my program will make a difference.
So whilst I can’t say for sure whether this will help my project, it’s going well so far and I’d recommend other people who’ve avoided it so far aslo try it out. I’ll keep you updated on this as my coursework progresses, of course.
Over to you…
So far I’ve looked at a few tutorials online, but none of them have proven particularly helpful. Is there anything you would recommend?
Do you use UML and have you found it useful? Do you have any advice?
Can anyone recommend any software for Windows or Mac users?
You should consider focusing on the dynamics of your model instead of just the structure (as you do with class diagrams).
If you’re interested in using UML sequence diagrams to think about your design, here’s a quick introduction.
Trace Modeler is a smart and easy-to-use UML sequence diagram editor. It isn’t free, but offers a student license (currently 19$ US).