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BOUML. Model your software

UML Intoduction

In previous article about Lazarus IDE and Free Pascal compiler we began an important talk on how programming could be easy (thanks to other people's job).
Here is important to mention how a blind programming generally brings into a software with a short life-cycle, where not directly into failure.

As we like to remember on our site, theory and practice can travel together.
Software isn't an exception.

During years of experience all over the world from programmers the necessity to realize a way which to generalize the job with has born.
Modeling can increase the job, giving a clear and elegant view at the same time.
A specific language has been worldwide defined - and it's continuously going to be -: the UML (Unified Modeling Language).

Actually at the 2.0, the UML has quickly been adopted as reference for modeling: we associate it to code and software, but it's so universal to be used in other fields.

But as said we concentrate on software scope; the best way to do this is... by using a software!

BOUML-First-Run-Settings
First Run - Settings

We chose BOUML.
Reasons are quickly said: it's free - with GPL license -, multi-platform and easy-to-use.

By launching it for the first time the settings window appears, where you have to set the owner identifier with a number between 2 and 127.
This is the minimal configuration, which you can edit from the main window's menu going to Miscellaneous -> Set Environment.

BOUML-Browser-Diagram-Class
Browser, Diagram, Class

Despite of its spartan look it becomes familiar in few time, revealing a richness of features so useful for inside job on modeling.

In picture we give a brief view of browser column on left, and of central windows for diagrams of so called Use Case diagram and Class diagram, with a class inside.

As you can see from picture there is no code inside, but only what we can identify as objects; this is one of generalization's aspect we talked before.