Java

Warning: This article needs updating. The basic process is correct, but the dependencies are now out of date. Please email and let me know if you want it updating.

In this article, we are going to go through the steps required to create a diagram based on the classes defined within a project (a ‘class diagram’, if you will). In order to do this, we will need to go through the following steps. 1. Create an account and project on the Kite9 diagram server 2. Create a Java project 3. Download + configure the Kite9 Java library 4. Add a diagram definition to the project 5. Run the Kite9 tool to generate the diagram.

Class diagrams are a mainstay of UML. But the problem is that translating a UML Class diagram into Java isn't straightforward. For example, just because the UML diagram says it's a many-to-one relationship, does that mean you should store the 'many' end in a list or a set? And which kind of list or which kind of set? Do you need to store the 'one' end on each of the 'many' items, or is the relationship one way?

Warning: This article needs updating. The basic process is correct, but the dependencies are now out of date. Please email and let me know if you want it updating.

Since documentation is often a neglected part of building a system, it follows that Javadocs are also bottom of the priority pile too.

If you're already using Kite9 for diagrams though then you'll be pleased to learn that these can be used within Javadocs without any extra effort.

This document provides a guide for formatting ADL XML, based on the ADL Schema.

This is meant as a reference guide. For an easy introduction to ADL, read this.

You can try out editing ADL XML in the interactive editor

As well as generating diagrams from your Java code, the kite9 build tool can generate diagrams defined in XML files stored within your project.

This project builds on the "hello world" tutorial, showing you how you can add an xml diagram to that project. It also assumes familiarity with ADL.

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In this article we looked at how you can quickly create an ADL diagram from Java code by downloading an executable jar file. This is all very well, but using maven makes life much easier.

A basic understanding of Apache Maven is required in order to follow this tutorial, and we assume that Maven is installed on your PC. This tutorial is tested with version 2.2.1.

If you have read the Introduction to ADL (Abstract Diagram Language), you may be wondering how one can use this language to get a diagram rendered. This article describes one of several ways in which you can describe an ADL diagram for rendering by the Kite9 diagram server: constructing Java ADL classes to describe your diagram.

This document describes the details of the binary and source downloads for the Java platform, and source control system details.

This article is written as an introduction to all of the components that you will meet in the ADL language.

In a nutshell, ADL is an attempt to fix some of the problems associated with UML: it is a new visual language (that is, a notation, or a set of symbols you can use) designed to allow you to express visually the architecture of software systems.