Simple PlantUML - IDE With Python

When it comes to code documentation, in my opinion, everyone involved with software get's thrilled.

This is due to two things:

1. Having to write software without a good language reference and intensive internet search is horrible, because every line of code might have been so much better if you would have known how to do so.
2. Analyzing someone elses code becomes a pain, if he or she did not document hers/his code.

Documentation can be:

• comments directly in the code
• an additional file with Classdiagramms, Sequence charts, ...
• an online help
• a good book on used patterns with the programming language (more a reference)

If you have to any experience in writing code you will more or less agree with me, when I point out that working on a project is much more fun if the documentation is good.

Therefore I like using UML-graphs, sequence diagrams or GUI mockups with salt .

The problem is: I'm lazy! (which according to other programmers is good, cause my aim is to keep it simple)

I don't want to draw all those diagramms with DIA or whatsoever tool.

I want to be able to:

• make rapid changes (like when coding)
• see the result more or less instantly (wysiwyg)
• have a lightweight tool (not 10.000 other (unused) functions
• offline capability

This is where plantuml comes into play. It has many functions (sequence charts, class diagramms, state diagramms, ...) but it is a command line tool which has to be fed with the source file as parameter or it is available as a web service.

I want to make rapid changes and don't like searching for my source files / output images or beeing not able to use it while not having the possibility to reach the web service.

Therefor I wrote a lightweight Python application which is attached in the following steps. Use it as a basis if you are anything like me and want to improve your programmers life with a small lightweight solution for code documentation.

For the software the following dependencies are needed

• Java (needed for excecution of plantuml)

• Python (version >= 2.7.9)
  • easy_install (for easy loading of Python modules)
  • Pillow (graphics module for Python)
• plantuml.jar
• Graphviz (needed for automated diagramm drawing by plantuml)

Install the software modules in the following order.

• Python
  • download from python.org (link in last step)
  • install
• easy_install
  • download script from website (link in last step)
  • execute script

• Pillow
  • open command prompt and insert command "easy_install Pillow"
  • close all python instances
  • after that you should be able to import PIL(low) in Python (IDLE)

• PlantUML
  • download from plantuml.com (link in last step
  • put in any location you want (just find it later)

• Graphviz
  • download from www.graphviz.org (link in last step)
  • install

Here is my source code for the application. Look through it and try to understand it.

Modify:

• config (with simple editor)
  • add full directory+filename for plantuml.jar in given python dict
• uml.pyw
  • look for "###" in file (Strg+F for find)
  • change file addresses for images (in directory icons) if needed

Take the given source code and the following sites to do so:

USE

• www.plantuml.com

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Modeling_Lan...

TEST

• https://docs.python.org/2/
• http://www.effbot.org/tkinterbook/

• http://www.effbot.org/imagingbook

• http://www.effbot.org/tkinterbook/tkinter-events-a...

MODIFY

• all of the above and way more ;-)

Feel free to leave me some comments and your thoughts.

I can't promise I'll have the time to make improvements, but maybe I'll have the time to do so and publish it here.