Ask HN: A modern-looking UML diagram tool?

#1

Post by faizshah » Mon, Nov 18, 2019, 3:26 PM UTC

Hi HN,

I've been going back to UML to try to tame some of my design/notes for my projects. Is there something that generates some more modern looking UML diagrams out there?

Re: Ask HN: A modern-looking UML diagram tool?

#2

Post by ringo7 » Mon, Nov 18, 2019, 3:42 PM UTC

I used successfully https://www.draw.io/ for my graduation paper's UML schemes and other additional explanatory graphics. Give it a try.

Re: Ask HN: A modern-looking UML diagram tool?

#3

Post by swalsh » Mon, Nov 18, 2019, 3:43 PM UTC

There's quite a few. Obviously Visio is popular, on Linux I've used a tool called "Dia" (http://dia-installer.de/) there are several others, but these are my 2 go to tools for UML.

Re: Ask HN: A modern-looking UML diagram tool?

#4

Post by auienrst » Mon, Nov 18, 2019, 3:45 PM UTC

Well, http://plantuml.com/en/ is, imo, the most efficient and maintenable way to produce UML diagram

Re: Ask HN: A modern-looking UML diagram tool?

#5

Post by rytill » Mon, Nov 18, 2019, 3:45 PM UTC

Whimsical might be helpful, though you can’t do the special UML arrows on there.

https://whimsical.com/

Re: Ask HN: A modern-looking UML diagram tool?

#6

Post by cwojno » Mon, Nov 18, 2019, 3:47 PM UTC

I also use Draw.io and recommend it highly. It's web-based, so it's also cross platform.

However, Lucidcharts has a better UI in that I can build diagrams after in LC than Draw.io. https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/

LC is paid if you need more than 1 chart (who doesn't?). But Draw.io is free. LC is also web-based and is cross-platform.

I've heard OmniGraffle is also excellent (never used it myself) but it only works on OSX/iOS: https://www.omnigroup.com/omnigraffle/

Re: Ask HN: A modern-looking UML diagram tool?

#7

Post by kevlar1818 » Mon, Nov 18, 2019, 3:48 PM UTC

Honestly just change the default styling in PlantUML[1]. The default styling turns a lot of people off, which is a shame because it's a fantastic tool. Even the monochromatic skin is much easier on the eye. The real benefit to PlantUML is the ability to commit the source code for your diagrams alongside your actual source code.

[1]: http://plantuml.com/skinparam