![]() I found the learning curve for writing PlantUML code to be very low. Thinking with PlantUMLĪgain, what I like about this is that it allows me to think while I write. To do this from an elevated Powershell command prompt: Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force ::SecurityProtocol = ::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072 iex ((New-Object ).DownloadString(''))Īfter installing PlantUML through Chocolatey and restarting VS Code, I find the preview diagram functionality works as it should. In those cases, I went ahead and installed plantuml through Chocolatey. The VS Code extension details do say that the plugin has an integrated copy of the requisite Java files and GraphViz but that in some cases different versions of those components can create issues. On some new installs, I have noticed that sometimes I would just get a blank screen when trying to preview my diagram. Open the extension marketplace in Visual Studio Code and search for "plantuml." It should be the first one that comes up: PlantUML. Install it and open a new file. ![]() By leveraging a standard modeling language I am not reinventing the wheel every time. It is a value I learned from the Army: we practices a standard way of making decisions and writing orders. It adds a level of formality to the process, which ensures I am conceptualizing my architecture correctly and communicating it clearly with concepts that everyone agrees on. One of the reason I like PlantUML is that it forces me to design leveraging a common and standardized framework. Interaction Diagrams: These are a subset of Behavior Diagrams, they show the flow of data and processes through the system.Behavior Diagrams: These aim to display the dynamic aspects of systems and how the system functions.Structure Diagrams: These aim to break down the static aspects of systems and the relations between those components, whether those components are object, classes, packages, or other components.UML supports thirteen types of diagrams organized into three categories (or, arguably, two categories with one subcategory). This is set of standards to model software at various levels of abstraction. Last year, I discovered PlantUML, and it has made diagram creation and editing significantly easier for me. It is easier for me because I can create my diagrams via human readable code and easily edit and update them as my thoughts take shape. I want to share how to install it and getting working with Visual Studio Code.įirst, what is UML? UML stands for Universal Modeling Language. Use Local Copy of C4 Templatesįor each of the template files C4 Context.puml, C4Context.puml, C4_Component.As a Systems Engineer and Architect, I have done my fair share of diagrams for both design and documentation. To be fair, it was an area of my professional development I was not entirely satisfied with. Creating diagrams that were organized and clear was a pain. I had used Visio but was never in love with it. Some people love Visio and I respect that however, I always found myself rearranging shapes and dragging things around the screen and formatting text. I couldn't think in Visio that is, I couldn't open up a blank document and jot down ideas and have them take shape. Rather, I had to take out a piece of paper and sketch out what I wanted to draw first and then go to Visio and build the finished document. Plantuml for C4 ArchitectureĬ4 templates exist to create PlantUML diagrams according to the C4 template. VSCode Plantuml Extension makes it easy to create and edit plantuml diagrams. gives many examples of PlantUML diagrams.Įxample of a sequence diagram I created VSCode PlantUML Extension Consistent diagrams - that can be easily interlinked. ![]() ![]() Diagram source text files are version-controlled in GIT in relevant source code repo.Remove the initial friction to create diagrams - by auto-generating them.architecture diagrams and description is current and correct.code is developed consistent with the architecture.For complex non-UML diagrams, where the arrangement of parts is important to convey information, it may be better to just draw a simple Box-and-Line diagram.īring architecture closer to the code so that it is in sync with the code:.For C4 architecture (Context, Container, Component, Class), it is ideal and C4 templates exist.For standard UML diagrams (class diagrams, sequence diagrams) auto-generation is a good option.Chrome browser) or online service via browser. It can run from command line, editor (e.g. PlantUML can be used to create several UML diagram types from a simple text file description.
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