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Ask HN: Why aren't code diagram generating tools more common?
31–40 of 112 posts
Re: Ask HN: Why aren't code diagram generating tools more common?
#32I've already mentioned this on the other thread ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31569646 ), but my friend and I have been working on https://www.codeatlas.dev as a sideproject - it's a tool for creating pretty (2D!) visualisations of codebases, while providing additional insights via overlays (e.g. commit density, programming language or other results from static analysis like dead code/test coverage/etc.). Fo…
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Re: Ask HN: Why aren't code diagram generating tools more common?
#33One of the problems is: what is the language to describe these diagrams? We do have UML and it's various variants: PlantUML, Mermaid but these are too low level to prescribe conventions over how to use these to describe complex architectures. A sequence diagram could describe anything through customer journeys, rest api call patterns to call stacks within a VM. Granularity/level of abstraction needs to be captured or…
I really enjoy(ed) using c4. Still need to figure out how to protect against screenshots though!
Re: Ask HN: Why aren't code diagram generating tools more common?
#34One of the problems is: what is the language to describe these diagrams? We do have UML and it's various variants: PlantUML, Mermaid but these are too low level to prescribe conventions over how to use these to describe complex architectures. A sequence diagram could describe anything through customer journeys, rest api call patterns to call stacks within a VM. Granularity/level of abstraction needs to be captured or…
I really enjoy(ed) using c4. Still need to figure out how to protect against screenshots though!
Protect against screenshots? Could you elaborate please
Re: Ask HN: Why aren't code diagram generating tools more common?
#35because a code diagram is no different than reading the actual code, it'll be just as confusing. the learning occurs when you create the diagram yourself.
Re: Ask HN: Why aren't code diagram generating tools more common?
#36they are not useful at all.
I want to see the big picture, what they can generate are direct translations of the code down to the line level.
Re: Ask HN: Why aren't code diagram generating tools more common?
#37I've already mentioned this on the other thread ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31569646 ), but my friend and I have been working on https://www.codeatlas.dev as a sideproject - it's a tool for creating pretty (2D!) visualisations of codebases, while providing additional insights via overlays (e.g. commit density, programming language or other results from static analysis like dead code/test coverage/etc.). Fo…
Just a heads up: Your links are broken. I think it's because you are using Reddit's syntax which HN doesn't support.
Re: Ask HN: Why aren't code diagram generating tools more common?
#38I've already mentioned this on the other thread ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31569646 ), but my friend and I have been working on https://www.codeatlas.dev as a sideproject - it's a tool for creating pretty (2D!) visualisations of codebases, while providing additional insights via overlays (e.g. commit density, programming language or other results from static analysis like dead code/test coverage/etc.). Fo…
Just a heads up: Your links are broken. I think it's because you are using Reddit's syntax which HN doesn't support.
Ah thanks!
Re: Ask HN: Why aren't code diagram generating tools more common?
#39Speculating based on both writing large systems from scratch, and joining a group where a large confusing system was being used... Diagrams are sometimes unnecessary overhead early in a project. Sometimes I’ve used them and seen other people use them for initial design planning, especially if management needs to be involved or approve the plans & schedule. But by a year later, the design has grown and changed, and ev…
The thing with profiling tools is that they're more focused on the details than the big picture at the system level. I'll definitely be using flame graphs more though, thanks for the tip. Also you are absolutely right about waiting for others to make the tools, but sometimes the tools don't exist for a good reason that I wouldn't have realized otherwise.
Re: Ask HN: Why aren't code diagram generating tools more common?
#40When UML was 'cool' I remember that at work some poor soul was tasked with producing UML diagrams using a $$$ tool, of course the tool failed and the poor guy had to manually produce most of the diagrams, which were obsolete quickly..
I was so happy not being the one doing this useless task..