The Unified Modeling Language is a standard used in a large number of Model-based projects. It is a main method for systems designers to transform their abstract models into concrete design models, and it provides a software design tool for developing system models without the need for programming language. UML's diagrams can be drawn with many tools, but there are also some online tools for diagramming. Two of the most popular UML tools that can be used online are Class Diagrams and Sequence Diagrams. This article explores the different tools for UML diagrams available online.
Altova
Altova has provided UModel, which is another UML software modeling tool. It supports all types of 14 UML2 diagrams as well as SysML for the embedded systems. It also holds up for business process modeling for enterprise analysts. It generates visually designed software models by incorporating Java, C++, and C #or Visual Basic .NET.
Features:
- It provides a dedicated toolbar for an individual diagram.
- It offers unlimited undo/redo, which inspires to discover new ideas.
- In UML diagrams, you can easily add a hyperlink to any element.
- It also provides an intuitive color-coding, icons, customized alignment grid, and cascading styles for colors, fonts line size.
Download link: https://www.altova.com/umodel
Violet UML editor
Score: 4.2 / 5
Pricing: Free
Violet UML Editor is another UML diagram tool that is very easy to learn and to use. It is a cross-platform tool intended for students, developers, and authors who need to make UML diagrams quickly. The good thing about this tool is that it is a portable program that you can copy to your flash drive or any device, so you may take it with you whenever you need to create diagrams without any complicated installation process.
Gliffy
Gliffy is enterprise-grade diagramming software that helps you to draw a diagram online in an easy way.
It is a wireframing tool for design projects that helps the engineering team to share their ideas in real-time.
Gliffy giving users the ability to toggle through layers and information in the diagram viewer
Features:
- Diagram with ease
- Share with anyone
- Collaborate instantly
- Integrate with Atlassian
- Preserve and track changes
- Import-export
Github: https://github.com/gliffy
Draw.IO
Draw.io is an open-source modeling tool to create flowcharts, process diagrams, UML, ER, and network diagrams.
Features:
- Since it is very easy to use, it provides an intuitive interface, drag& drop functionality, a huge amount of templates, and also, it does not need to install.
- It offers security and reliability.
- It can be used anywhere, both online and offline.
- It is compatible with every browser.
Download link: https://www.draw.io
NClass
NClass is an easy tool for creating UML diagrams in easy and fast development. The main goal is to provide a simple but powerful class designer
NClass is licensed under the GPL-3.0 license and written in C#.
Features:
- Support C# and Java language
- simple
- user-friendly
- Fully supported with strict syntactical and semantical verification.
- Inline class editors with syntactic parsers for easy and fast editing
- Printing / saving to image
- Multilingual user interface
- Mono support for non-Windows users
- Configurable diagram styles
Software Ideas Modeler
Score: 4 / 5
Pricing: Free; starts at $68
The next UML diagram software worth using is Software Ideas Modeler. This features quick and easy drawing tools to help create documents such as PDF and RTF, designing and styling options, Source Code Generation like C++, Java, and more. Moreover, depending on the template you’ve selected, you can insert images and any other objects to your diagram. Just simple drag and drop them in the editing area.
UMLet 14.3
Score: 3.8 / 5
Pricing: Free
The list of UML diagram tools is not complete without UMLet 14.3. This is an open-source built-in application for Windows that will help you make UML Diagrams for free. Its main features include built-in temples, and it allows you to build a sequence and a diagram of your activities from plain text. Meanwhile, it supports exporting different file types like eps, pdf, jpg, SVG, and clipboard.
ConceptDraw Diagram
Score: 4.6 / 5
Pricing: Free
ConceptDraw Diagram is an impressive UML diagram creator accessible on both Windows and Mac. This awesome tool is well suited for UML diagrams as it offers a number of solutions with vector stencils and templates for any project you need. Another good thing about this tool is that you can use GIF images to have an animated slide on your drawing for technical purposes.
Visio
Score: 4.8 / 5
Pricing: Free; $13/ month, $299 for standard, and $589.99 for Professional
Visio is a professional UML diagram software you may use in creating UML diagrams. It offers templates and modern UI. Thus, this feature can bring your diagrams to life with data icons, overlays, graphics, and colors for better visualizations.
Umbrello
Score: 43.7 / 5
Pricing: Free
Umbrello allows you to create diagrams in a standard composition to document or design format. Similar to other UML diagram tools, it supports sequence diagrams to help you show the order of the interaction and how the operations are carried out. Moreover, it also supports a number of code generators such as ActionScript, Java, Javascript, Pascal, etc.
IBM Rational Rhapsody: graphical developments environment for full process integration
IBM Rational Rhapsody is a graphical, integrated development environment (IDE) for software and product development. The UML program supports object-based software development for web-based applications as well as embedded systems and real-time systems based on C++ and Java EE. UML/SysML modeling enables you to create source code quickly in the IDE for the specified languages, C and C#, and Ada.
Rhapsody was passed on many times after its development in 1998. After IBM acquired the Swedish company, Telelogic AB in 2008, the American company expanded its rational product range with Telelogic’s Rhapsody. The Swedes only purchased the IDE in 2006 by acquiring the original developer company, I-Logix. As one of the first graphical development environments, Rational Rhapsody, spread in a short time.
International brands use the software for large projects that require detailed version differentiation for numerous team members in different countries. Jaguar Land Rover, for example, uses Rational Rhapsody to adapt the software to its infotainment offer to different markets.
For these and other tasks, Rhapsody offers a development environment in which you can draw diagrams, generate, and check code, and compare or analyze different versions. The UML tool supports the following:
- UML
- SysML
- AUTOSAR
- DoDAF
- MODAF
- UPDM
- DSL
These UML-based modeling languages are suitable for tool-based software development, which saves programmers a lot of work. In addition, you can rely on compatibility since UML and Rhapsody were developed in the same house – namely at Rational Software.
In Rhapsody, you either draw the models freely, import existing code for visualizations as diagrams, or download requirements from a requirements management tool such as Doors, a relative of the Rational family. The following YouTube video shows you how to create a SysML model for a real-time system from a list of requirements in Doors. In this case, IBM will present its approach to the INCOSE Vendor Challenge. The aim of the project was to create a parking system for a hotel chain.
In order to protect your privacy, the video will not load until you click on it.
The developers built the UML tool based on the open source software Eclipse. The current version still supports the Eclipse IDE platform as an integration or a plugin. It contains further integrated development environments as workflow integration:
- Wind River Workbench
- Green Hills MULTI
- Microsoft Visual Studio 2008
As an IDE, Rhapsody works in real time and creates source code frames from diagrams. The program is available in four different license forms. In addition, IBM offers different versions of the UML tool specifically for the different requirements of different departments. The modules are compatible with the IDE. You can choose between the Architect for Systems Engineers, the Designer for Systems Engineers, the Architect for Software, or the Developer. The programs differ mainly in functionality and price.
The Developer is the full version, which combines all features and integrates your created source code into the embedded development environment. It also optimizes the path from the first draft to the prototype and to the finished implementation. For example, you can use round-trip engineering and reverse engineering for this purpose. If you want to synchronize source code and design or document the process, this is also possible. Among the slim-lined versions, Architect for Software is the most powerful tool for working with UML, because it is the only one that offers these developer features.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| ✔ Modular design, scalable | ✘ Longer familiarization time |
| ✔ Supports all current UML 2 diagram types | ✘ Expensive compared to other options |
| ✔ Integrated development environments and interfaces for other development platforms and tools enable a secure, integrated workflow right from the start | |
| ✔ Code frame generation for many programming languages |
Gleek.io
Gleek.io creates several types of UML diagrams: sequence diagrams, class diagrams, and object diagrams. Teams also use Gleek.io to create org charts, flowcharts, mind maps and many other diagrams. As power users and developers know, using the keyboard proves much faster than using a mouse. Because Gleek.io relies on keyboard commands, developers work faster than they do with drag and drop diagramming programs. And Gleek.io has syntax help available right in the diagramming window should you get stuck.
Gleek input type:
- Keyboard, not drag-and-drop
UML diagram Gleek.io does best:
- sequence diagrams
- class diagrams
- object diagrams
Conclusion
UML Diagrams are a handy tool for any Software Engineer to help make sense of complex systems. A UML Diagram is a visual representation of a software system and its documentation. It can be used to document the objects and their relationships, either during the design phase or as instructions for others (like future developers). Here we will discuss how to create and edit UML diagrams using Free tools available on the internet.