UMLet is an
open-source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
Java-based
UML tool designed for teaching the
Unified Modeling Language and for quickly creating UML diagrams. It is a drawing tool rather than a modelling tool as there is no underlying dictionary or directory of reusable design objects. UMLet is distributed under the
GNU General Public License.
UMLet has a simple user interface that uses text-formatting codes to modify the basic shapes with decorations and annotations, so there is no forest of icons or parameter list dialogs in the user's way. This does require the user to learn yet another text markup language, but the effort is small and the markup obvious to the experienced UML designer.
UMLet can export diagrams to pictures (eps,
jpg
JPEG ( ) is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography. The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image ...
), drawing formats (
SVG), document formats (
PDF
Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
). The clipboard can be used to copy-paste diagrams as pictures into other applications. It is possible to create custom UML elements.
The basic drawing objects can be modified and used as templates which allows users to customize the app to their needs. This requires programming of the elements in Java.
The most important UML diagram types are supported: class, use case, sequence, state, deployment, activity.
Support for UML 2.0 features is not yet available, though the customization feature could be used to do this. It supports concepts like
Martin Fowler's UmlAsSketch. Its design goals are described in the paper "Flyweight UML Modelling Tool for Software Development". Another paper compares UMLet to
Rational Rose
Rational Rose XDE, an "eXtended Development Environment" for software developers, integrates with Microsoft Visual Studio .NET and Rational Application Developer. The Rational Software division of IBM, which previously produced Rational Rose, w ...
.
[M. Auer, L. Meyer, S. Biffl]
Explorative UML Modeling - Comparing the Usability of UML Tools
Proc of 9th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems (ICEIS 2007)
The app's native file format is
UXF, an extension of XML intended for exchanging UML models.
UMLet runs stand-alone or as
Eclipse
An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...
plug-in on
Windows,
OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
and
Linux.
Releases
*version 15.0: Web: zoom, lasso, export, dark mode; hi-res export; startup
*version 14.3: Improved OS integration, improved Eclipse integration, XML security fix, many additional fixes
*version 14.1.1: New custom elements, new sequence all-in-one, bug fixes
*version 13.3: opaque elements, bug fixes
*version 13.2: improved relations
*version 13.1: bug fixes
*version 13.0: internal refactoring, context-sensitive-help
*version 11.3: modified security manager behaviour, new options, batch mode improved, new relation types
*version 11.2: word wrap for custom elements, improved anti-aliasing, better Eclipse support
*version 11.1: stability fixes
*version 11.0: list of recently opened files, drag and drop of uxf-files, updated file format
*version 10.4: palette drag and drop, enhanced clipboard and improved keyboard support
*version 10.3: updates to the user interface
Limitations
*No direct support for templates (parameterised classes) nor design patterns, though both can be shown with workarounds
*No code generation - this is a design choice to keep the drawing tool fast and light.
See also
*
List of UML tools
*
UXF UML eXchange Format for exchanging UML designs as files.
References
External links
UMLet websiteUMLet on Eclipse Marketplace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Umlet
Free UML tools