Phil,
In my current team, there is almost no coalface usage of UML (and familiarity with it is about 3 out of 14 developers), and I mourn this daily.
The main power of UML that I have seen is the graphical notation… (the old saw : a picture is worth a thousand words), allows people to grasp a high to middle abstraction level view of the expected system behaviour very quickly. However, the endless debates about the shapes, the rigour or lack of it and the woefully clunky EXPENSIVE tool support have really held back widespread use of its power. [And don’t get me started on the Rational Unified Process]. With tools like Posiedon/ArgoUML and others though, this may be changing.
(Note: Using UML for data modeling is and always has been a filthy slimy hack to me - for further reasons why (and a barrow push to Object Role Modeling (ORM) see inconcept.com ).
However, that might change fairly soon, as it appears the luminarys of action semantics research (Mellor from “Shlaer-Mellor”) have FINALLY started the ball rolling on making notationally complete (and slightly extended) UML diagrams executable.
Imagine that, unit testing a graphical model specification then translating to Ruby code…
Executable UML : http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0201748045
http://www.executableuml.com/
All of that being said, in most of the UML aware projects I have seen, the notation has been applied AFTER the fact. ie. Understanding of the sequence, collaborations and flow had already been achieved by the implementers (or team leaders) and they simply used UML as a method of documenting and promulgating their design decisions. [And noone has ever used OCL in anger].
So, my perfect world solution would be a
- free
- plugin to FreeRIDE
- load, save, edit UML/XtUML/UML 2.0 profile models
- extensive model translation / compilation framework scriptable via Ruby
- interoperation with other UML toolsets (use XMI as one potential model persistence format)
- webified output (use SVG / PNG as active diagram export formats)
- compatible with other cooperative shared worksurface plugins
- compatible with other XP supporting tools
Note: Another extremely interesting book, which highlighted most UML-using processes complete lack of investment in REusability is Generative Programming : http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0201309777/.
Lachlan Pitts
Technical Consultant
SoftWorks Australia Pty Ltd
email: mailto:Lachlan_Pitts@softworks.com.au
voice: +61 7 3511 7000
There are two kinds of companies:
Good ones ask you to think for them.
The others tell you to think like them.
Once you see that, it’s easy to tell whether you’re in the right place.
-Benjy Feen
···
-----Original Message-----
From: Phil Tomson [mailto:ptkwt@shell1.aracnet.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2003 2:53 PM
To: ruby-talk ML
Subject: Re: UML tool for Linux?
In article 200301131517.24081.tim@bates.id.au,
Tim Bates tim@bates.id.au wrote:
Does anyone know of a good OO modelling (UML?) tool for Linux, that works well
with the Ruby way of doing things? ie not one loaded with features specific
to C++ or Java…Tim Bates
I’m not answering your question, but asking you a question… please don’t
take this wrong, but I’ve been curious about this UML stuff and since
you’re asking about UML I’m assuming you know it and use it. I’ve never
done any UML and I don’t know much about it other than it’s a graphical
way to model the interactions in an OO system. So with that in mind…
What good is UML? I mean, it seems to me that especially with languages
like Ruby you could just code your OO system and then refactor as needed.
You could even use Ruby as a prototyping tool to come up with an OO design
for your application and then code the final app in C++ or Java after
you’ve done some experimenting in Ruby.
I remember that when I was first learning programming (longer ago than I
want to admit) flow charts were still in vogue… now nobody does a
flowchart, they might do pseudo-code, but I haven’t seen a flowchart in
years. It seems to me that UML is kind of like flowcharting… am I
wrong?
Phil
“Or perhaps the truth is less interesting than the facts?”
Amy Weiss (accusing theregister.co.uk of engaging in ‘tabloid journalism’)
Senior VP, Communications
Recording Industry Association of America