tools to diagram a program flow?

[cyberface]

CommanderJameson said:

cyberface said:

Latest version will import / export recent-version Visio XML files.

Very, very "sort of".

I've had extremely mixed results with this, varying from the "wow, that's perfect" to "huh? where'd my diagram go and who replaced it with this schizoid scribble?"

Fair enough - I've had mostly good results but I'm sure there are lots of cases where MS put 'features' in that aren't in the published spec, leading to craziness.

I never advocate a workflow that relies on multiple people editing the same file on different apps though... it's like Babelfish, start a document in Word, then someone imports it into Pages on a Mac and adds stuff, then saves as MS Office XML format, then opened again on a PC, edited some more, then sent to someone using OpenOffice on Linux, etc.... the resulting file could end up an utter mess

I only mentioned it because under *most* cases, there is a degree of interoperability. I *do* love OmniGraffle though, it's good enough to put up with the bullst of exporting into formats that won't break on clients' PCs (my diagrams tend to end up embedded in analysis documentation, so I usually just export to TIFF and paste it into the document as a picture.... )

Given MS have claimed their XML format is 'open' and interoperability should therefore be a breeze, Omni really need to get their act together making this part of the process bulletproof. Especially now they've released a project management tool. Diagramming and project management were the two apps that I pointed out could be stoppers for BA / PM types in my field who fancied switching to OS X. Office is OK since Microsoft sell Office for the Mac. But MS Visio and MS Project aren't available, and the alternative apps do require a bit of polishing regarding compatibility. There's always the possibility of running Visio and Project in Parallels but you may as well stick to Windows if you're going to do that.

I've successfully integrated OmniGraffle into my workflow but still feel Omni need to do more work on Microsoft compatibility, since these sorts of apps (including their project management app) tend to be used by analysts / project managers dealing with clients on Windows... it's perfect for small projects but collaborative efforts with larger teams need absolute compatibility between all users on the same document. But that's another discussion.

Back to the OP - if OS X is a possibility then check out OmniGraffle (they have a trial licence that gives you full functionality but stops saving of documents or something) - it's really rather good and IMO not that expensive. IIRC a standalone copy of Visio is more expensive.

[robwales]

Some UML tools might be helpful:
ArgoUML - free
Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect - 30 day free trial

[CommanderJameson]

I should have mentioned in my post that I too use OmniGraffle and think that it's fab - its handling of the simple things, like object placement and connectors, is a joy compared to Visio.

I think the most predictable interoperability results occur when the file originates in OmniGraffle and is saved as a Visio XML file; it's when Visio gets its hands on things that wheels start to fall off.

The restriction in the trial version is on the number of objects you can have in a drawing.