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Ask HN: Favorite UML Modeling Tool?

17 points by alangibson 5y ago

Hi HN. What's your current favorite browser-based UML modeling tool? Is there an industry standard standout at this point?

rufasterisco 5y ago
https://plantuml.com/ https://plantuml.com/ it can be browser-based but there are many integrations, for example it's trivial to have it rendered as image in markdown files
Isammoc 5y ago
Plantuml and mermaidjs https://mermaid-js.github.io/mermaid/#/ https://mermaid-js.github.io/mermaid/#/
softmodeling 5y ago
Are you looking for a textual UML tool (https://modeling-languages.com/text-uml-tools-complete-list/ https://modeling-languages.com/text-uml-tools-complete-list/) to "write" your UML models and then easily render them in your browser? Or for a graphical online UML editor (https://modeling-languages.com/web-based-modeling-tools-uml-er-bpmn/ https://modeling-languages.com/web-based-modeling-tools-uml-...)? If the former, then plantUML is my favourite. If the latter, there quite a few options but one that's easy and fast is http://www.umletino.com/ http://www.umletino.com/
- tluyben2 5y ago
  > textual UML tool (https://modeling-languages.com/text-uml-tools-complete-list/ https://modeling-languages.com/text-uml-tools-complete-list/) Mermaid is in the comments, not the main list, but I have been using it for a while now for our specs; it can be rendered to whatever image, but also on the client side which is great for embedding in 'living documents'.
speedgoose 5y ago
A whiteboard and a marker.
NicoJuicy 5y ago
PlantUML with the C4 extension https://github.com/plantuml-stdlib/C4-PlantUML https://github.com/plantuml-stdlib/C4-PlantUML
mdaniel 5y ago
Also, while I hear the "browser based" in your question, be aware there is a plugin for the JetBrains tools that gives instant feedback, which can speed up the "development cycle" for PlantUML diagrams: https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/7017-plantuml-integration https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/7017-plantuml-integrati... and https://github.com/esteinberg/plantuml4idea#readme https://github.com/esteinberg/plantuml4idea#readme Regarding mermaidjs, I draw attention to the fact that GitLab's markdown language supports it, which is incredibly handy in MR descriptions or wiki pages: https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/markdown.html#mermaid https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/markdown.html#mermaid

17 points by alangibson 5y ago

Hi HN. What's your current favorite browser-based UML modeling tool? Is there an industry standard standout at this point?

rufasterisco 5y ago

https://plantuml.com/ https://plantuml.com/ it can be browser-based but there are many integrations, for example it's trivial to have it rendered as image in markdown files

Isammoc 5y ago

Plantuml and mermaidjs https://mermaid-js.github.io/mermaid/#/ https://mermaid-js.github.io/mermaid/#/

softmodeling 5y ago

Are you looking for a textual UML tool (https://modeling-languages.com/text-uml-tools-complete-list/ https://modeling-languages.com/text-uml-tools-complete-list/) to "write" your UML models and then easily render them in your browser? Or for a graphical online UML editor (https://modeling-languages.com/web-based-modeling-tools-uml-er-bpmn/ https://modeling-languages.com/web-based-modeling-tools-uml-...)? If the former, then plantUML is my favourite. If the latter, there quite a few options but one that's easy and fast is http://www.umletino.com/ http://www.umletino.com/

tluyben2 5y ago
> textual UML tool (https://modeling-languages.com/text-uml-tools-complete-list/ https://modeling-languages.com/text-uml-tools-complete-list/) Mermaid is in the comments, not the main list, but I have been using it for a while now for our specs; it can be rendered to whatever image, but also on the client side which is great for embedding in 'living documents'.

speedgoose 5y ago

A whiteboard and a marker.

NicoJuicy 5y ago

PlantUML with the C4 extension https://github.com/plantuml-stdlib/C4-PlantUML https://github.com/plantuml-stdlib/C4-PlantUML

mdaniel 5y ago

Also, while I hear the "browser based" in your question, be aware there is a plugin for the JetBrains tools that gives instant feedback, which can speed up the "development cycle" for PlantUML diagrams: https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/7017-plantuml-integration https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/7017-plantuml-integrati... and https://github.com/esteinberg/plantuml4idea#readme https://github.com/esteinberg/plantuml4idea#readme Regarding mermaidjs, I draw attention to the fact that GitLab's markdown language supports it, which is incredibly handy in MR descriptions or wiki pages: https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/markdown.html#mermaid https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/markdown.html#mermaid