Dia () is

free and open source Free and open-source software (FOSS) is software available under a license that grants users the right to use, modify, and distribute the software modified or not to everyone free of charge. FOSS is an inclusive umbrella term encompassing free ...

general-purpose diagramming software, developed originally by Alexander Larsson. It uses a controlled

single document interface A multiple-document interface (MDI) is a graphical user interface in which multiple windows reside under a single parent window. Such systems often allow child windows to embed other windows inside them as well, creating complex nested hierarchies ...

(SDI) similar to

GIMP Gimp or GIMP may refer to: Clothing * Bondage suit, also called a gimp suit, a type of suit used in BDSM * Bondage mask, also called a gimp mask, often worn in conjunction with a gimp suit Embroidery and crafts * Gimp (thread), an ornamental tr ...

and

Inkscape Inkscape is a vector graphics editor. It is used for both artistic and technical illustrations such as cartoons, clip art, logos, typography, diagrams, and flowcharts. It uses vector graphics to allow for sharp printouts and renderings at ...

Features

Dia has a modular design with several shape packages available for different needs:

flowchart A flowchart is a type of diagram that represents a workflow or process. A flowchart can also be defined as a diagrammatic representation of an algorithm, a step-by-step approach to solving a task. The flowchart shows the steps as boxes of v ...

, network diagrams,

circuit diagram A circuit diagram (or: wiring diagram, electrical diagram, elementary diagram, electronic schematic) is a graphical representation of an Electrical network, electrical circuit. A pictorial circuit diagram uses simple images of components, whil ...

s, and more. It does not restrict symbols and connectors from various categories from being placed together. Dia has special objects to help draw entity-relationship models,

Unified Modeling Language The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a general-purpose visual modeling language that is intended to provide a standard way to visualize the design of a system. UML provides a standard notation for many types of diagrams which can be roughly ...

(UML) diagrams,

s, network diagrams, and simple electrical circuits. It is also possible to add support for new shapes by writing simple

XML Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing data. It defines a set of rules for encoding electronic document, documents in a format that is both human-readable and Machine-r ...

files, using a subset of

Scalable Vector Graphics Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is an XML-based vector graphics format for defining two-dimensional graphics, having support for interactivity and animation. The SVG specification is an open standard developed by the World Wide Web Consortium sin ...

(SVG) to draw the shape. Dia loads and saves diagrams in a custom XML format which is, by default,

gzip gzip is a file format and a software application used for file compression and decompression. The program was created by Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler as a free software replacement for the compress program used in early Unix systems, and ...

ped to save space. It can print large diagrams spanning multiple pages and can also be scripted using the

Python programming language Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming language. Its design philosophy emphasizes code readability with the use of significant indentation. Python is dynamically type-checked and garbage-collected. It supports multiple prog ...

Exports

Dia can export diagrams to various formats, including: *

EPS An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(Encapsulated PostScript) * SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) *

DXF AutoCAD DXF (Drawing Interchange Format, or Drawing Exchange Format) is a computer-aided design (CAD) data file format developed by Autodesk to enable CAD data exchange and interoperability between AutoCAD on different computing platforms. His ...

(Autocad's Drawing Interchange format) * CGM (Computer Graphics Metafile, defined by

ISO standard The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Me ...

8632) * WMF (Windows Meta File) * PNG (Portable Network Graphics) *

JPEG JPEG ( , short for Joint Photographic Experts Group and sometimes retroactively referred to as JPEG 1) is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography. The degr ...

(Joint Photographic Experts Group) * VDX (Microsoft's XML for Visio Drawing)

Development

Dia was originally created by Alexander Larsson but he moved on to work on

GNOME A gnome () is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and widely adopted by authors, including those of modern fantasy literature. They are typically depict ...

and other projects. James Henstridge took over as lead developer, but he also moved on to other projects. He was followed by Cyrille Chepelov, then Lars Ræder Clausen. Dia is currently maintained by Hans Breuer, Steffen Macke and Sameer Sahasrabuddhe. It is written in C, and has an extension system which also supports writing extensions in

Python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (prog ...

References

External links

Dia Project Homepage

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dia (Software) Concept- and mind-mapping software for Linux Cross-platform free software Cross-platform software Diagramming software Free diagramming software Free software programmed in C Free UML tools Free vector graphics editors GNOME Applications Office software that uses GTK Portable software Unix software Vector graphics editors for Linux Windows graphics-related software

Features

Exports

Development

See also

References

External links