#57 Standard UML Notation

[Anonymous]

Dear Developers,

it would be very great if using the standard UML notation (instead of the Eclipse notation) would be possible.

There are two reasons to use the UML notation:
- It is simpler, so easier to understand the diagram.
- Eclipse notation does not mean anything for those who does not use Eclipse.

Best regards,
Marton Sigmond
Software Engineer

[Anonymous]

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When discussing a feature for inclusion, it's good to include an example of its utility. This feature might be useful if you were going to print the diagram and show it to people who don't use Eclipse. However, without having stated that, your request might come across as bigoted. Look at the way you worded it.

Green displays UML diagrams using Eclipse decals because it's an Eclipse plugin and is designed to integrate seamlessly with Eclipse. If you're suggesting that we ditch the seamless UI in favor of a text-based one, your ideas regarding Green are misguided.

The ability to display in UML notation could be a feature, perhaps one that could be toggled. This could best be addressed by having an alternate "view" of the editor (e.g., by mapping different "view" components to the editor's view. Really, the only things that needs to change are the labels used. Have them simply display text instead of Eclipse icons.

This is definitely an issue worth looking into. If you have any other ideas on why this would be a useful feature, let me know.

[Carl Alphonce]

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Hi Marton,

I apologize for the tone of the previous comment. It is not representative of the Green team.

I understand your suggestion, and it is reasonable (even though you may work in Eclipse, not everyone you interact with does). You are right that we have introduced lots of Eclipse icons into our diagrams, and this certainly does limit the diagrams' "portability", if you will. Our primary mission with Green is to support students in our introductory CS courses, and so it made sense for us to craft Green in such a way that there was a seamless integration between what students see in the standard JDT editors and what they see in the Green editor.

Your point is well-taken, however, because not everyone who needs to view these diagrams use Eclipse. I can also see the benefit of being able to select between an "Eclipsified" UML and a more standard UML also for our students - after all, they may not always be working in Eclipse, and will need to be familiar with more standard UML diagrams too.

We will take this up at our next meeting, and decide whether this is something we might be able to support in our next release, or whether it is involved enough that we should allocate more time to it.

Thanks so much for your interest in Green, and for the suggestion.

Best regards,
Carl