Software development with ConceptDraw DIAGRAM
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ConceptDraw is a tool for technical and business graphics. It provides specialists who create graphic documentation with a possibility to focus not on the process of drawing itself but on the essence of the task. For this ConceptDraw features a huge number of ready-to-use objects (4590 for the moment of writing the article), smart connectors, layers, hyperlinks and many other possibilities.
Modern development of program software leads to a large amount of graphic documentation: diagrams describing the work of applications in various cuts and notations, GUI design, documentation on project management. Each of these fields is represented by topical libraries and templates. To ConceptDraw DIAGRAM new possibilities have been added, thanks to which the program became a sequence higher useful for developers. The most considerable innovations are:
Let us consider typical applications.
Object-oriented design
Over the recent years object-oriented methodology has become more and more widespread. Thanks to this methodology developers manage to deal with growing complexity of applications. More and more programs are written in such programming languages as C++, Java, Visual Basic and Object Pascal. However, the complexity of the designed systems imposes extended requirements as to design of graphic documentation. ConceptDraw possesses powerful tools for designing of technical documentation for object-oriented projects. The libraries included in the package allow to easily draw class hierarchies, object hierarchies and diagrams of data flows with the use of the most popular notations, including UML and Booch notations. And the library for projecting COM-interfaces will spare developers of ActiveX-servers a headache. Flowcharts of algorithms and business-processes
Prototyping Graphical User Interface (GUI)
Project management
For a large-scale project to be completed successfully it should be thoroughly projected. One of the generally recognized and visual tools for projecting and tracking timeliness of the work on a project is a Gantt chart. ConceptDraw offers the wizard for automatic creation of Gantt chart. The other side of the question of project management is the dynamism of changes. Changes in a project and its documentation are made daily. All updates should be done in time and be available to each developer. ConceptDraw offers many methods of solving this question:
Automation of management and development processConceptDraw DIAGRAM supports XML. XML for ConceptDraw has been created and, at the same time, support for import XML for Visio. All this allows to develop solutions for automation of various aspects of software development.For instance:
Visualization of dataConceptDraw is a good means for visualization of information of any kind. The program features powerful graphic possibilities. Thus, on the ready graphic kernel ConceptDraw the rest products of the line have been developed: ConceptDraw PROJECT , ConceptDraw MINDMAP . This powerful graphic kernel (2D-graphics) is supported by a number of open formats (including XML). To this add the flexibility of data processing, connected with the scripting language ConceptDraw Basic (included in version V), and also the flexibility in parameterization of objects, which is provided by the whole table of the object parameters (which is available for editing even from the program's interface). So in the end it becomes clear that visualizing of information in ConceptDraw is a good idea. So, the typical task for ConceptDraw Basic is to automate the visualization of some data. This data can be obtained as the result of work of an arbitrary application (including ConceptDraw-script) and saved in a text file, ODBC-compatible database or in one of the open formats supported by ConceptDraw. In the first two cases, data will further be read and visualized with the help of ConceptDraw Basic. In case of using a ConceptDraw open format (XML for ConceptDraw or XML for Visio) the obtained document can be simply opened in ConceptDraw, you can then add some details of design and get a presentable diagram. Possibilities of ConceptDraw Basic considerably increase at using in script the functions exported by the shared libraries. The conclusion is: ConceptDraw is a platform worth considering for writing solutions, connected with data visualization. Work with databases |
Special attention has been given to work with databases. There are libraries for designing databases in various notations: ORM, Chen ERD and Martin ERD, Express-G and relational diagrams. Starting from version V, ConceptDraw supports ODBC-compatible databases. Interaction with them is possible with the help of the scripting language ConceptDraw Basic. Besides, in ConceptDraw Professional package there is Database Model Diagram wizard (it can be found among the templates of the section ERD & Database). It builds a model of an arbitrary presented by the user in the form of DSN database.
Having applied all said above about possibilities of ConceptDraw in fields of projection, automation and visualization of data, we can conclude, that the program is well designed for solving the following tasks:
- design of databases
- ORM-diagrams
- ER-diagrams
- relational diagrams
- reengineering of databases
- visual displaying of data in the form of charts and diagrams
Additional materials
For more details on various applications of ConceptDraw for solution developers read the articles:
- Internet solutions on the basis ConceptDraw
- Visualization of databases with the help of ConceptDraw
- Visualization of networks with the help of ConceptDraw
TEN RELATED HOW TO's:
UML Block Diagram →
Use Case Diagram Taxi Service UML. This sample was created in ConceptDraw DIAGRAM diagramming and vector drawing software using the UML Use Case Diagram library of the Rapid UML Solution from the Software Development area of ConceptDraw Solution Park. This sample shows the work of the taxi service and is used by taxi stations, by airports, in the tourism field and delivery service.
IDEF0 Visio →
ConceptDraw DIAGRAM extended with IDEF0 Diagrams solution from the Software Development area of ConceptDraw Solution Park is a powerful diagramming and vector drawing IDEF0 software. All IDEF0 diagrams created in ConceptDraw DIAGRAM are vector graphic documents and can be reviewed, modified and converted to MS Visio XML format. To obtain the IDEF0 Visio documents from ConceptDraw DIAGRAM documents use the wide export possibilities of ConceptDraw DIAGRAM.
Business Process Flowchart Symbols →
Diagramming is an astonishing way to visualize business processes. The list of the most common business process flowchart symbols is quite long starting from basic flowcharts, continuing with SIPOC diagrams. Business process modeling was never easier than now, with special ConceptDraw Business Process Mapping solution. To carry out all professional standard requirements for business processes mapping, it is necessarily to follow the special graphical notations. ConceptDraw Business Process Mapping solution offers an exhaustive suite of tools to aid business process mapping. There are three vector libraries SIPOC Diagrams, Business Process Flowcharts, and Swim Lanes that contains totally more than 50 symbols of standard BPM notations. This is all that professionals need to effectively evaluate and manage quality in business processes.
Best Program to Make Diagrams →
Make diagrams, charts, workflows, flowcharts, org charts, project charts easily with ConceptDraw software.
Advertising - Design Elements →
Business and Finance solution from Illustration area of ConceptDraw Solution Park - use it to quick draw illustrations, diagrams and infographics for your advertising and marketing documents, presentations and websites. The vector clipart library Advertising includes 8 concept images.
JSD - Jackson system development →
Jackson System Development (JSD) is a linear method of system development created by Michael A. Jackson and John Cameron in the 1980s. It comprises the whole software life cycle directly or providing a framework for more specialized techniques. When implementing the Jackson System Development method and designing JSD diagrams, you can succesfully use the powerful and helpful tools of ConceptDraw DIAGRAM software extended with Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD) solution from the Software Development area of ConceptDraw Solution Park.
Types of Flowchart - Overview →
A flowchart is a powerful tool for examining processes. It helps improving processes a lot, as it becomes much easier to communicate between involved people, to identify potential problems and to optimize workflow. There are flowcharts of different shapes, sizes and types of flowchart vary from quite basic process flowcharts to complex program flowcharts. Nevertheless, all these diagrams use the same set of special symbols like arrows to connect blocks, parallelogram to show data receiving or rectangles for showing process steps. Basic flowcharts are used to represent a simple process algorithm. A basic flowchart notation consists of rectangles (business processes), arrows (the flow of information, documents, etc.). The same notation is used in items such as the "decision", which allow you to do the branching. To indicate the start of the entire business process and its termination can be used the "Terminator" element. The advantages of Basic Flowchart are simplicity and clarity. With it you can quickly describe the business process steps. Creating of Basic Flowchart does not require any special knowledge, as easily understand by employees with different levels of education and IQ.
Flowchart design. Flowchart symbols, shapes, stencils and icons →
When thinking about data visualization, one of the first tools that comes to mind is a flowchart design. You can find flowchart symbols, shapes, stencils and icons easily on the Internet, but it might take time to systematize this information. Nevertheless, once you start flowcharting, you’ll love its simplicity and efficiency. This diagram consists from standard flowchart symbols, approved by ANSI (American National Standard Institute) for drawing flowcharts. A flowchart is a diagram that represents a step-by-step algorithm of any process, displaying the process stages as boxes that are connected with arrows. Flowchart design makes it clear and readable. Flowchart designed using ConceptDraw DIAGRAM flowchart software allows to make attractive and clear process presentation, it makes interpretation of the business process flow fresh and versatile. Great flowchart design view is a big advantage over the diagram created manually on a paper.
Entity Relationship Diagram Symbols →
When we start to speak about databases, we must always mention database structure visualization. One of the most common ways to do it is to create an entity relationship diagram, and to put appropriate symbols on it. It is important either for database projecting and for its' future maintenance. Entity Relationship Diagram describes data elements and their relationships within a database. There are a set of special symbols that depict each element of an entity relationship diagram. Entities - represents some stable components such as supplier, employee, invoice, client, etc. Relation symbols show how the entities interact. Attributes define characteristics of the relationships. Attributes can be one-to-one or many-to-many. Physical symbols is used in the physical models. They represent items such as fields, tables, types and keys. ERD physical symbols are the building material for the database. Notation lines are used to illustrate the relationships. The most common method is Crow’s Feet notation. You can use ConceptDraw Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD) solution to represent a database using the Entity-Relationship model.