Tool for Creating UML Sequence Diagrams
If you have to draw something called "UML Sequence Diagrams" for work or school, you already know that it can take hours to get a diagram to look right. Here's a web site that will save you some time:
You can just write the diagram out in text, click "Draw", and the web site will spit out an image. Then you can tell your boss that you slaved for hours in MS Visio perfecting every line...
Example
Here's an example of what you'd write. Notice that the syntax is very natural.
Alice->Bob: Authentication Request
alt successful case
Bob->Alice: Authentication Accepted
else some kind of failure
Bob->Alice: Authentication Failure
note right of Bob: Bob clears key cache
end
... And here's the resulting image:
Hey, wait a minute...
Astute readers will notice that I am the author of websequencediagrams.com. Yesterday I added a note pleading with people to blog about it or at least link to it, and I figured that I should practice what I preach. So this article is nothing but a shameless plug for my other web site.
The fact is, the page doesn't have much text on it, so its hard for people to come across it by searching alone. I added it to Wikipedia and so far that's where most people find it. The more links I have, the more Googler's will find it.
Alternatives
| Quick Sequence Diagram Editor | Java program with confusing syntax. |
| mscgen | Unix command line program. I was inspired by its syntax, but found it overly verbose. |
| Sequence Diagram Editor | Nice editor, if you love filling in text boxes. $99 |
| Tracemodeler | A worthy competitor, though we have different views on the use of text. Its author, Yanic, and I try to see is first to mention our tool on web forums. |
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