Software development with ConceptDraw PRO
|
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 PRO 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 PRO 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:
Software Diagrams
IT world is extremely rational and logical. So what can be more precise than Software Diagrams to rate the results of work? Visual statistics is the best way to understand the data. This figure demonstrates the data flow diagram (DFD), which was created to describe the electronic system of custom purchase. This is the process of buying using electronic bar code scanning system. Such systems are used in large stores. The cashier scans the bar code, the system outputs the data on the price of the goods and carries out a purchase process. This DFD utilizes the Gane/Sarson notation. To create it The ConceptDraw DFD solution has been applied.
Workflow Diagram Symbols
A competent delegation of responsibilities between workers guarantees business success in most cases. At first sight, it might seem that workflow diagram symbols are quite similar to a regular flowchart. But workflow diagram is a more accurate way to present working processes. Workflow diagrams are helpful for a working process analyzation, to depict a pathway of process issues, personalize responsibilities and identify resources that will help to optimize a workflow. Generally, Workflow diagram deploys flowchart symbols for displaying work process steps and relationships. But, often it require some additions and improvements to become more professional and illustrative. The Workflow solution for ConceptDraw PRO provides the user with a big library of symbols that are designed especially for workflow diagrams.
Flowchart Marketing Process. Flowchart Examples
This sample shows the Flowchart that displays the layout and work flow of the cloud marketing platform. This diagram has a style of the marketing brochure. This style displays the central product that is related to the other issues. Using the ready-to-use predesigned objects, samples and templates from the Flowcharts Solution for ConceptDraw PRO you can create your own professional looking Flowchart Diagrams quick and easy.
Network Visualization with ConceptDraw PRO
ConceptDraw makes the entire process of network visualization easier thanks to the numerous ready-to-use objects included in the package for presentation of network equipment, LDAP directory symbols and many other objects that symbolize resources in most various representations.
Applications
If you are just a beginner in drawing flowcharts, it may seem that a sheet of paper and a pen are just enough. However, at the time you would want to share your results, diagramming applications would suite you better. it’s very easy to create diagrams that way and to discover new kinds of flowcharts. The huge collection of sample ConceptDraw diagrams, charts, illustrations and other types of business drawings includes a wide range of business themes. A huge number of graphic images of ConceptDraw documents is divides on business application areas according to business-oriented solutions for which they were made.Here is a short visual list of samples of flowcharts, process diagrams, UML models, management charts, computer network diagrams, maps, infographics, illustrations, etc. In short, each ConceptDraw solution is accompanied with at least ten samples representing some particular examples of the application of the given chart.
Mechanical Drawing Software
It is impossible to imagine mechanical engineering without drawings which represent various mechanical schemes and designs. ConceptDraw PRO diagramming and vector drawing software supplied with Mechanical Engineering solution from the Engineering area of ConceptDraw Solution Park offers the set of useful tools which make it a powerful Mechanical Drawing Software.
Basic Flowchart Symbols and Meaning
While creating flowcharts and process flow diagrams, you should use special objects to define different statements, so anyone aware of flowcharts can get your scheme right. There is a short and an extended list of basic flowchart symbols and their meaning. Basic flowchart symbols include terminator objects, rectangles for describing steps of a process, diamonds representing appearing conditions and questions and parallelograms to show incoming data. This diagram gives a general review of the standard symbols that are used when creating flowcharts and process flow diagrams. The practice of using a set of standard flowchart symbols was admitted in order to make flowcharts and other process flow diagrams created by any person properly understandable by other people. The flowchart symbols depict different kinds of actions and phases in a process. The sequence of the actions, and the relationships between them are shown by special lines and arrows. There are a large number of flowchart symbols. Which of them can be used in the particular diagram depends on its type. For instance, some symbols used in data flow diagrams usually are not used in the process flowcharts. Business process system use exactly these flowchart symbols.
ConceptDraw PRO ER Diagram Tool
Database design is an important part of any project, as databases become more and more complex nowadays. To make the model more representative, entity relationship diagrams are widely used in software engineering area. These diagrams show sets of entities as rectangles connected via lines labeled with their cardinalities. This an example of the ER-diagram developed to store information regarding some online role-playing game. It includes three main elements of ER diagram: entities, relationships and attributes. The entities, attributes and relationships on this ER-diagram is depicted according to the Chen's notation. Chen's notation for Entity Relationship diagrams admits using of rectangles to depict entities, ovals for attributes and ,at least, diamonds to show relationships . ConceptDraw Entity-Relationship Diagrams solution was applied as ERD software to create this diagram.
ConceptDraw PRO: Able to Leap Tall Buildings in a Single Bound
ConceptDraw PRO is the world’s premier cross-platform business-diagramming tool. Many, who are looking for an alternative to Visio, are pleasantly surprised with how well they can integrate ConceptDraw PRO into their existing processes. With tens of thousands of template objects, and an easy method for importing vital custom objects from existing Visio documents, ConceptDraw PRO is a powerful tool for making extremely detailed diagrams, quickly and easily.
GUI Prototyping with ConceptDraw PRO
All about prototyping. GUI Prototyping with ConceptDraw. Download prototyping software.
Related How To's
- Software Diagrams
- Workflow Diagram Symbols
- Flowchart Marketing Process.
Flowchart Examples - Network Visualization with ConceptDraw PRO
- Applications
- Mechanical Drawing Software
- Basic Flowchart Symbols and Meaning
- ConceptDraw PRO ER Diagram Tool
- ConceptDraw PRO: Able to Leap Tall Buildings in a Single Bound
- GUI Prototyping with ConceptDraw PRO