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One trick that I always fall back on is to make a dependency graph. In meetings I used to pull up yuml.com but now I use mermaid. You can just start typing te
by michaelrpeskin 1y ago
One trick that I always fall back on is to make a dependency graph. In meetings I used to pull up yuml.com but now I use mermaid. You can just start typing text and arrows and it renders in real time what depends on what. It's great in a live meeting to help focus people on where the problem really is, or in documentation to show why a change here will affect something there.
Both yuml and mermaid don't get you control over layout. I think that's a feature. If the layout engine can make a pretty picture that means your dependencies aren't too complex, but if the graph looks terrible and complicated, that means you're system is also probably terrible and complicated.
- KolibriFly 1y agoTotally agree on the lack of layout control being a hidden strength. When the graph looks like spaghetti, that's not a tool issue - it's a systems issue
- loa_in_ 1y agoTo save others confusion, it's not yuml.com but yuml.me, a UML diagramming tool
- michaelrpeskin 1y agoSorry, you're right. It's been so long since I used it, I forgot that it wasn't a .com domain.
- w10-1 1y agomermaid layout doesn't scale for me so I keep using yEd/yFiles and their tgf (trivial graph format -- tab-delimited relations) input with orthogonal layout. It's a bit of a hassle in a meeting but updates take about 15 seconds to refresh if you have everything set up. Automating it fully would require an expensive license.
- firesteelrain 1y agoI wish we could use that. I can’t use them because mermaid doesn’t have a way to assure no data is stored on mermaid servers so I can’t use it for anything proprietary or even work related at all. LucidChart has a way to tie into Corporate though
- illusive4080 1y agoI just use VSCode with a markdown file and the mermaid preview extension. It’s all local. https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=vstirbu.vscode-mermaid-preview https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=vstirbu....
- firesteelrain 1y agoI can’t even get that approved.
- vanviegen 1y agoDoes corporate IT need to whitelist every VSCode extension that's being used? I can see the logic -it's running arbitrary code on your system as your user on their network- but damn! How does that even work? A self-hosted VSCode marketplace or something?
- firesteelrain 1y agoBasically. VSCode supports airgap install or offline install of plugins. Store them in Artifactory like an arbitrary location like vs-code-plugins and then ask an admin to install them on your VM.
- illusive4080 1y agoOuch. We are headed that direction. The problem is, if a vulnerability is found in a plugin, then you have to get everyone to manually upgrade. Doing it this way means everyone’s software is always out of date, which has its own drawbacks too.