Open Source Design Tools?

mbogosian asks: "Recently, my broadened responsibilities have me doing some database design and modeling, and I'm happy for the new knowledge and experience, but I'm a bit frustrated about the tool selection. I know most of us have had plenty of experience with at least a handful of all the wonderful Open Source development tools out there (like GCC, GNU Make, Subversion , and Perl to name a few). My question is this: where are OpenSource design tools? I've tried what I could find on SourceForge, but (as usual?) most of the projects that sounded promising were either still in the planning stages or seemed abandoned. Of course something which allowed be to create nifty class charts and output them to UML and/or SQL would be really cool, but I've yet to find something that works (especially in Linux). What are your favorite Open Source design tools and what do you like about them?"

King of the sea

[hrbrmstr]

Poseidon for UML Community Edition from Gentleware [gentleware.com] is a really nice modeling and reverse-engineering tool. It's Java-based (a *tad* slow on startup) and has great support.

Re:King of the sea

[KDan]

It's a lot like ArgoUML from the looks of it. The diagrams look really ugly.

Daniel

Re:King of the sea

[__past__]

That's because it basically is ArgoUML, just non-free.

Dia and Umbrello

[KDan]

Dia [lysator.liu.se] and Umbrello [sourceforge.net] are the two I found to be some use. ArgoUML, a java program, was really unwieldy, and I don't recommend it. If you're just looking to draw a nice diagram (for presentation purposes), rather than use it in the design process, I found that actually OpenOffice's Drawing program was excellent for the purpose, with lots of arrow/line types (curved, straight, etc).

Daniel

doxygen, dot and qcad

[Confuse Ed]

I tried Dia some time ago and found it very frustating to use, with most of built in objects being too restrictive and lacking enough variety of connection points to terminate lines and arrows.

For line diagrams (e.g. for documenting 3D graphics algorithms), I've moved on to qcad [qcad.org], which is a 2D CAD package.

For OO design, you can try doing this backwards : prototype the interfaces and classes and run doxygen [doxygen.org] (with dot [graphviz.org]) to generate inheritance and collaboration diagrams or XML output for post-processing. This probably fits in more with an extreme programming prototype/refactor style methodology than a complete up-front design methodology.

For state diagrams, I've had some success using dot on its own.

Using doxygen and dot has the significant additional feature that the files you edit are all plain-text files, so you can use your existing source revision control system (e.g. CVS)

Even with these packages however, I usually still find a pen and paper (or a white-board or blackboard if available) the easiest and fastest option for sketching out an initial design, or during discussions of various design alternatives with colleagues.

Re:Dia and Umbrello

[Teancom]

I'd just like to second the recommendation to checkout Umbrello. I used it to do the design on a project in Java last year, and was very pleased with it, and it's gotten better since then (now that they accepted my patch to fix a focus bug ;-). It can output to java/c++/someotherstuff, and has a very nice ui.

UML Database Design

[Lomby]

I can strongly suggest using Dia [lysator.liu.se] in conjunction with tedia2sql [tigris.org]. You can do the graphical design in Dia and then convert the result to SQL for various databases (Oracle/MySQL/PostgreSQL/...).
It is really fast and stable, it supports tables with indexes, primary keys, foreign keys, ...

Re:UML Database Design

[Grue]

I second this recommendation. I've used dia and tedia2sql for several database designs.

Also, Torque [apache.org] from the Apache project is another good project to help with database design. You can genereate database from a custom XML schema.

ArgoUML

[erinacht]

ArgoUML [tigris.org] is a Java based (and biased) UML development toolkit - well worth investigating

Tigris [tigris.org] itself contains many other open source software engineering tools for design, construction, testing, deployment and more


Synopsis:
Tigris.org Community Scope
Tigris.org is a mid-sized open source community focused on building better tools for collaborative software development.
You will not find thousands of unrelated projects here: every project fits into the Tigris vision.
You will not find dead projects he

Re:Right tool for the job

[n1ywb]

Example: the Linux kernel developers use proprietary BitKeeper rather than free CVS, because BitKeeper is simply a better tool.

Whoa whoa, lets be clear here. Bitkeeper is better for THAT job. Linux kernel development is so fast paced and so much code comes in from so many different sources that CVS couldn't handle it. Linux kernel development is an unusual case. CVS is totally fine for most projects. Even RCS is sufficient for small projects with one developer.

Sometimes using free software vs. superior com

Data Architect from The Kompany

[gadwale]

You may want to try Data Architect [thekompany.com] from The Kompany for database modelling.

I do not have much experience using it, but the screenshots look very slick [thekompany.com] (a good judge for open source apps since the UI is generally the weakest link!)

The listed features include:
* Workspace/Project oriented environment
* ERD centric data modelling
* model panner ("birds eye view")
* quick find and naviagtion from output window
* model validation
* full documentation capabilities
* integrated Advanced SQL Editor with syntax highlighting
* SQL Project - a multi-platform (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux), multi-database, integrated development environment
* save/load SQL sessions
* integrated ODBC
* multi-platform (Linux, MS Windows and soon Mac OS X)
* multi-database (ODBC, MySQL, PostgreSQL, DB2 and InterBase/FireBird coming soon)
* open file format (XML)
* DBMS specific features such as data types and SQL syntax
* reverse engineer existing databases
* generate create-scripts
* print model
* print data dictionary
* liberal use of tool-tips to help Users
* integrated Team Diagram> (general purpose diagramming)
* supports table inheritance
* supports; table, view, domain, sequence, procedure

Supported databases are:
* generic using ODBC
* MySQL
* PostgreSQL
* DB2
* InterBase/FireBird (in testing)

It is not free as in beer, but the license agreement seems to indicate that you will get the source. It is reasonably priced at $39.95 for the download version and you will be supporting a great company.

And don't be surprised if you get an email back from the president of the company, Shawn Gordon. I sent an email yesterday to the support address and received a reply from him within a few minutes.

You may also want to look at their BlackAdder [thekompany.com] IDE. Screenshots here [thekompany.com].

Regards,

Adi Gadwale.

Re:Data Architect from The Kompany

[MrBlack]

You thought a Motif application looked slick???

To my knowledge, there isn't one but try this...

[Hollinger]

Hey, to my knowledge, there isn't an open-source tool that'll do what you want. You might, however, just consider shelling out the cash for a program such as Embarcadero's Describe [embarcadero.com]. Check it out, and see if it fits your needs.

Oh, and it uses Perl as a scripting language, so you can really customize it to match your design flow wherever you are. One of our coders modified an existing script to make it do some useful things, like interact with the GUI, and (of course) the core of the program.

One of the bett

try Eclipse with UML plugins

[rohis]

Try eclipse from (http://wwww.eclipse.org) which is opensource along with Omondo Plugin from (http://www.omondo.com) free for developing, not open source.

More plugin for eclipse are listed here
http://eclipse-plugins.2y.net/eclipse/index. jsp

for other UML Plugins
http://eclipse-plugins.2y.net/eclipse/plu gins.jsp? category=UML

This Project Has Not Released Any Files

[bite.me]

Abandoned projects on Sourceforge? I don't believe it.

Stir the pot...

[legerde]

Since Open Source software is.. evolutionary... Maybe what you are finding is how little the design tools are needed. Granted the people who work on Open Source software love to WRITE software, and not formally design it. The design evolves on its own, so why try and manage it closely. It will take care of itself. See Linus rants on this. He believes he makes design decisions by picking and choosing clumps of other peoples work.

Its not surprising to me that there are no "design" tools.. They just ar

Re:Stir the pot...

[Scarblac]

Yeah, that's ok if what you're writing is some generic open source app. If you have to build something for a client or for your boss, on the other hand, you need design. If only to agree beforehand what it is that you're going to make, exactly.

Re:Stir the pot...

[m0rph3us0]

Well... how many times have you worked out a design for days finalized it, have everyone agree on it, make decisions based on this design, and then half way through the project the requirements change. The problem isn't usually design, it is people changing the design.

Not many.

[pmz]

My question is this: where are OpenSource design tools?

The best high-level design tools for UML, database schemas, etc. are still proprietary. This is also the reason I hesitate to use such tools in the first place. For example, how does a binary project file get effectively version-controlled? How can it be shared with people who haven't blown $1,500 for SuperDesignToolXYZ?

I've also seen thousands of dollars blown on design tools, when the project is so small, anyway, that plain text files would have sufficed. Or, better, actually documenting the class definitions in a Java or C++ project.

Don't forget that design tools also have their own built-in and distracting learning curve. It is easy to waste time poking around in a tool without actually accomplishing real work. If a company is going to invest in the cost of a design tool, at least send the team to a week of training.

In short, design tools are always a mixed blessing and should be viewed skeptically.

Tools are unnecessary

[rubinson]

If you're asking about CASE tools, I'd recommend that you stay away from them. While CASE tools can be useful for managing larger database schemas, I've found that--for small and mid-sized schemas (dozens of tables)--they tend to hinder more than help. They add a layer of abstraction between you and your design, one which prevents you from really getting into the guts of your design. Personally, I always use a whiteboard to sketch out my design and write all of my SQL from scratch. May be old-fashioned, but I've never found anything that works better. When I'm done designing a schema, I know every column intimately and I have a reason and justification for every decision. CASE tools take those decisions out of your hands. If you want to use CASE tools to manage (rather than design) your schema, you can always import the completed design into your tool of choice.

When it comes to database design, a nice large whiteboard is your best friend.

Re:Tools are unnecessary

[pmz]

CASE tools take those decisions out of your hands.

Or worse, CASE tools put those decisions into the hands of someone who thinks they are now a database architect, because they can pointy-clicky the tables around on a screen. CASE tools cannot infer the meaning of the data, and, therefore, are actually dangerous in the hands of some PRB who thinks "normalization" is something that happens to immigrants.

Dome

[Usquebaugh]

Dome [freshmeat.net] I'm just using it for DFD/ERD but it handles most diagrams I've ever heard of.

here's something

[olrs]

Just happened to see this on Freshmeat today:

http://www.jameswells.net/KlassModeler/ [jameswells.net]

Looks like it might be appropriate, OSS and GPLed

Umbrello

[floydman]

Umbrello [sourceforge.net]

/*Why is there a prnguin on my screen?!*/

the best tool..

[greywire]

without a doubt, the all around best ever tool for almost anything is a pad of graph paper.

I grew up with graph paper. I simply think better with a pencil and a pad of graph paper. I've always had a pad and my clipboard since I was 8 years old (same board, too) and I'm 32 now.

Be it mechanical, electronic, or software, I always start with graph paper.

I've tried using software for drawing diagrams and such, but it just gets in the way. Sure, when you want to make a published version of documentation, th

SparxSystems Enterprise Architect

[Heinr!ch]

I've been running Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect [sparxsystems.com.au] for about 1.5yrs on Windows. Prior to that, I was running Rational Rose - but got sick of paying out the ass for upgrades each year. EA, as it's known, rivals Rose in many ways and costs less than $200/seat. I absolutely love it. It doesn't entirely answer your question; So recently, I discovered that it works flawlessly on Linux via CrossOver Office [codeweavers.com] (assuming you copy over MS Sans Serif from Windows). Check it out (there's an unlimited 30 day trial