Borland announced the first release of Borland Together Designer Community Edition, a platform, language and IDE agnostic modeling tool that is available for download at no cost:

http://www.borland.com/products/downloads/download_together.html

Borland's free Together Designer Community Edition features premier UML 2 support, including:

    * UML 2.0 and UML 1.4 diagramming;
    * Diagram image creation (*svg, *bmp, and *gif); and
    * XMI for UML import.
    * Rational Rose® *.mdl model import
    * Logical ER diagramming

More details at:
http://www.borland.com/together/designerce/index.html

Great news, used it on a training course once and I really liked the round-trip UML. What restrictions are there on the CE?

CE doesn't seem to support round-trip UML- there is no integration with source code.

Graham, this release is total crap, even comparing with Together CE 4.

It does support all UML 1.4 and 2.0 diagrams, but I wasn't able to convince it to pickup existing java sources and shown class diagram for the package. So, it is probably good for modelling, but will not help at all for iterative development cycle.

Shame, it seems that you can only play with the pretty pictures and not much else ;) Poseidon used to allow you to import existing projects and create class diagrams for them, but I noticed they have stopped including that in their CE edition too.

How important do you guys think the round-tripping is? Are many people actually using UML to generate code (thru MDA?) or do you think its sufficient to just genreate disgrams independently?

Together was the only tool on the market that was offering a transparent roundtripping for class diagrams and almost transparent for sequence diagrams. Good UML tool should allow have such feature and for the rest diagams it should support export to various formats (html, gif/png/svg/meta and xml), so that model could be used to generate code or other models. I would rather use Violet UML editor then this free toy from Borland. http://www.horstmann.com/violet/

Shame, it seems that you can only play with the pretty pictures and not much else ;) Poseidon used to allow you to import existing projects and create class diagrams for them, but I noticed they have stopped including that in their CE edition too.How important do you guys think the round-tripping is? Are many people actually using UML to generate code (thru MDA?) or do you think its sufficient to just genreate disgrams independently?

Earlier versions of Together that did round-tripping were great. It's not a critical feature. Importing would be immensely helpful. But if you can't at least print diagrams it's completely useless to me. In fact it's so useless I can hardly congratulate them on their 'community' edition. I'd call it an evaluation version, at best.

Together Whiteboard was much better.

In terms of printing, you can export as images and print which I suppose is something... does anyone know how much the full version with round-tripping costs these days?

I don't need to have full round-tripping myself - I just want the ability to import my existing code base and generate a clean looking (only expose public methods and getters for example) diagram for project documentation. So, I decided to check out the pricing on Borland's web site to see if they have something more aligned with my needs and was quite surprised to see what I found...

Together Control Center (All the bells and whistles) - $5000 USD
Together Edition for Eclipse - $4000 USD
Together Solo - $3500 USD
Together Edition for Visual Studio .NET - **** $199 ****

But wait, the Visual Studio .NET edition surely must be crippled for only $199! Nope, as far as I can tell from the web demos it fully supports round-trip engineering. So Why does the Eclipse plugin cost 20x as much as the Visual Studio plugin? Heck, if the .NET edition supported Java I'd buy a copy of Visual Studio .NET to run it! I can only assume that Borland's pricing model is in line with IBM's Rational XDE but I can't help but feel ripped off when they're giving the product away for $199 to .NET developers. I'd gladly pay $199 for the new community edition if it supported code import and documentation generation but given the choice between a tool that's only useful as a learning aid or forking over $3500 of my personal hard earned cash, I'm going to have to take a look at Visual Paradigm or Enterprise Architect.

As a side-note, I'm not anti-Borland. I've used TogetherSoft's Together Whiteboard edition and TogetherJ through version 4.x and found it to be the most intuitive modeling tool I've ever used. I just can't justify spending that amount of cash on a tool when I might be able to find something "close enough" for 1/15th to 1/20th of the cost...

:-)Hey what about this tool as a plugin to eclipse.

:-)Hey what about this tool as a plugin to eclipse.

Then you should check out Together for Eclipse see :

Main website :
http://www.borland.com/together/eclipse/index.html

Technical overview:
http://www.borland.com/together/pdf/together_technologies_technical_overview.pdf

For evals see "Together Edition for Eclipse" towards the bottom of this page:
http://www.borland.com/products/downloads/download_together.html

Make sure to ring your local Borland office and ask for an eval key to be sent to you presto.

Regards,

Marc
Borland.

Then you should check out Together for Eclipse see ...

I have evaluated this version for some time. It seems to be too uncomfortable to use in the normal development. Running old Together 6.01 in parallel to the Eclipse seems to be more usable than Together 6.2 for Eclipse.

For years I've been waiting for a free UML tool - that is JUST an UML modeling tool and affortable. If've played just a little bit with Borlands new tool but it seems to fit my requirments.
Rational Rose was my favorite tool but too expensive and the usability is...you know! And XDE is just not usable...seems that IBM will build the tool new from scratch and integrate it with WSAD. Maybe there will be a "WebSphere Application Developer Enterprise Integration Edition for UML Designers with WebSphere Portlet Server Support"...with 500 additional Eclipse plugins...:-)
In my opinion until today there are no good OpenSource UML Tools...I don't like ArgoUML (and for months there seems to be no development)...
EclipseUML was nice but with many bugs and the new version seems to be commercial (2000$).

Thank you Borland for this nice and FREE tool!

- Mirko -

Poseidon may not be open source, but it is based on ArgoUML, has a free Community Edition and seems quite usable for modelling. You have to pay for round-trip functionality but what you get for free isn't bad.

Try magic draw...
I got frustated with the way togethersoft sales work they dont want you to even try out their software
magic draw is not bad.. supports several features..

also try our Poseidon as well

I have heard that there are basic uml plugins for intellij as well. *** fre
Quite a few freewares out there..

I got frustated with the way togethersoft sales work they dont want you to even try out their software

You can download all trial versions of Together 6.2 from Borland's site.

MC

Didn't think they'd release Together for completely free.
Not sure what the point of these UML tools is if they're not round trip ?
Great for evaluation purposes though.

I remember thinking it was a pretty good product 2 or 3 years ago when we evaluated it. No idea who could have afforded the $10k a seat though... guess it must be cheaper these days... ?

Been trialing OMONDO for Eclipse. Seems pretty cool. Think they may have a free version (without round trip ?) Not too expensive I thought to purchase the full version though.

Although to be honest it's the first UML pluggin for eclipse I've tried...

Omondo's free version has had round-tripping support for some time. The catch is that only their unstable beta versions are available for free. Still, I find it useful.

Omondo's free version has had round-tripping support for some time. The catch is that only their unstable beta versions are available for free. Still, I find it useful.

I have yet to see the UML tool with round-trip engeneering working in practice in real world projects, not academic ones. I mean round-trip engeneering support that brings real productivity gains, not pain by messing hand written code or bloating the source with comments and bad code makiing it unusable (unreadable) for changing by hand.

MC

Together doesn't do any of the ugly stuff you mention, unless you decide to annotate your diagrams beyond what Together does by default (and then it's just JavaDoc comments). I used it on a couple of "non-academic" projects a couple of years ago, and thought it was great. Then I went to an environment that made it very hard to use it, so I stopped. I'm now an IntelliJ guy, but I still think some refactorings are much more easily done graphically, as in Together.

I agree with the previous poster that a "free" edition of Together that does nothing but drawings is horrible. They need to bring back the Whiteboard edition.

What a pity! This edition doesn't allow user to print models or save them as html/images/pdf, but allow use to import Rational Models.

Original Together team has left Borland Office, they are now JetBrain, Inc.
If you are real modeler, try the SparxSystemss Enterprise Architect!

It is better than Rational XDE(Rapid Developer), Borland Together, Sybase Power Designer, Eclipse based UML Modeling Tools, Embarcadero’s Describe, Telelogic Tau Developer, etc…

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architects update history is



Changes and fixes for Version 4.1 - build 732

First implementation of "Smart Snap" an alternative to "Snap to Grid" which helps tidy layout diagram elements while you work - see View Main Menu
Added option to convert linked classifier to local instance in diagrams (object context menu)
Added support for setting non-model local options when a model is not opened within EA.
Modified Resolve Replication conflicts to pick up additional conflicts
Further enhancements to the XMI importer for Rose UML 1.3 based XMI, Netbeans based XMI and others
Initial support for XMI .12 export (beta). May be selected on the XMI Export dialog
Added option to not export custom EA tagged values when exporting XMI to other tools for code generation etc.
Added support for Extension Points being drawn when Use Case displayed in rectangular format
Changed default Z-order of attached notes/constraints for associations
Changed SQL Server comments for ODBC DDL import and generate DDL from 'remarks' to 'MS_Description'.
Fixed error throen by SQL Server repository when placing target element on diagram from relationships window.
Fixed crash when transferring model to Oracle and there's an integrity constraint violation caused by an orphaned object in an eap file.
Fixed missing index in DDL generation.
Fixed ODBC DDL import of MySQL tables with multiple foreign keys.
Fixed bug in the PHP parser for methods returning references.
Fixed bug on importing tables where option to "never" autolayout diagram had no effect.
Modified element editing in locked diagram to prevent changing appearance thru F4 or context menu
Fixed error with "Hide Connectors" setting on diagram - connector labels were still 'selectable'
Ensured boundary entity and control robustness elements were same size when added from toolbox or dropped from tree
Fixed issue with Note element "Link to Connector Tags" function
Fixed bug where elements with alternate images could be incorrectly being draw when generating HTML documentation.
Fixed issue with buttons losing state under Korean language
Added support for exporting and importing stereotype metafiles as per the Reference Data import and export.
Fixed issue when deleting a namespace from the namespace dialogue didn't update the project view.
Corrected sort order on date and numeric columns in Resource Details, Project Issues, Test Details, Project Statistics and Timeline dialogs.
Added option when generating package DDL to delete target files where selected single file for each table.
Updated UML Pattern behavior to import package elements
Corrected locate element behavior in Relationships dialog to locate package elements in Project View
Corrected issue where Method/Attribute Constraints were being incorrectly exported in HTML with non-renderable br tags.
Fixed issue where directions for Activity Edges were incorrectly settable in the connector properties.
Fixed bug where the modify property dialogue didn't load up the scope for existing methods.
Refresh and sort the resource list control on the Resource Details dialog.
Refresh and sort the resource list control on the Resource Details dialog.
Locate Object command in Resource Details dialog fixed to allow search for packages.
Fixed bug on SQL Server repository when setting a property for a class attribute.
Corrected XMI export behavior to write log file when requested
Fixed bug on SQL Server repository when setting a property for a class attribute.
Fixed occasional menu corruption after add-in menu had been active.
Modified Required and Provided Interface element to allow checking base interface properties
Modified XML import/export to handle issue with Communication Message parent AssociationRoles
Added update to open diagrams to remove deleted elements when complete package hierarchies are deleted.
Fixed issue where stereotype notes on UML profiles were being incorrectly imported.
Fixed table support for UML Profiles.

Code Template Updates:
- C# Operation Declaration : Fixed erroneous generation of access modifier for static constructors.
- C++ Class Body : Updated to use default constructor/destructor visibility options + bug fix
 

Changes and fixes for Version 4.1 - build 731

Modified operation of user security when "User Lock required to Edit" enabled. Allow editing of locked elements within unlocked packages.
Fixed error which could result from using context menu on diagram object directly after deleting attribute in Project View
Modified Object Find dialog to allow searches on Association and Decision elements
Fixed saving Priority and Difficulty fields for Requirement Elements.
Modified HTML Document generation to not provide the Goto links in the Linked Section if there's no a tag to refer to
Modified MySQL DDL generation to include "," after last field and before Primary Key directive
Modified Boundary element drawing to prevent stereotype strings being incorrectly drawn over with the element's name
Fixed behavior where element descriptions were not being updated when the package they reside in was renamed
Fixed intermittent error which could result when deleting columns from tables with foreign keys
Modified Hide Qualifier behavior to show/hide qualifiers for package contents.
Added check for blank datatypes when creating foreign keys.
Added support for displaying element features in a movable label when the element is displayed with an alternate image.
Artifact element added to element "Change type" dialog
Fixed problem with foreign key references to unique constraints
Removed direction restriction for self-connectors.
Many improvements to the XMI importer for XML written out by the NetBeansWriter for XMI 1.2
Fixed copy-paste behavior to copy style information for diagram element connectors.
Fixed the file save-as dialog for Saving UML profiles to prompt the user to overwrite.
Fixed SQL memory leak on large DDL import (too many open cursors error message).
Fixed error in DDL output for MySQL.

Code Template Updates:
 -C++ Class body generates inline destructors for interfaces if destructors are being generated.

 


Changes and fixes for Version 4.1 - build 730

Release 1 of MDG Link for Visual Studio.NET - and integration plugin linking EA to the Visual Studio.NET development environment
Release 1 of MDG Link Technology File specification for EA
Added support for EA Model Technology resource files in the Resource View
Added support for XMI import/export of rose uuid's
Added support to have default Attributes and Operations in elements defined in the Project-Template package
Improved security checks so that checked-out and versioned classes from foreign packages are locked appropriately.
Fixed bug on PostgreSQL repository where change to table name not working.
Added XMI support for Composite State and SubactivityState when importing from Rose
Set Control + Mouse Wheel as shortcut for zooming diagram
Set Shift + Mouse Wheel as shortcut to horizontally scroll current diagram
Fixed ordering of foreign key columns.
Fixed resizing of elements showing inherited features
Fixed Message drawing to self-associations
Fixed ODBC import of default column values from Oracle.
Fixed RTF default templates to prevent EA incorrecly exporting Object Type information when Object Detail is unselected
Fixed display issue with Activity folder in UML toolbox not enabling scroll button in some conditions
Fixed display issue with Diagrams incorrectly displaying the locations of elements when the diagram is moved in the project
Fixed database error in Automation interface where GetByName attempted to find entries in an empty collection.
Fixed foreign key indexes for Generate MySQL DDL.
Fixed bug with unique constraint names.
Fixed problem with setting message source and target in sequence diagrams.
Fixed syntax of USE DATABASE statement for SQL Server.
Prevented adding duplicate column and constraint names.
Allowed setting Delphi operations to pure without abstract.
Added support for some string manipulation functions in the code generation templates.
Fixed bug when importing tables from MySQL and table owner was empty string.
Fixed schema/owner bug when importing ODBC tables in Unicode version.
Modified Communication message name to include ":" after sequence number (if it exists)
Corrected issue with object name underline being drawn using border style rather than font style
Added support in sequence diagrams to show proposed message insertion path while dragging and dropping a connector (Message)
Added check to ensure sequence lifelines are at least as high as the last message
Fixed table/column comments when generating SQL Server DDL.
Prevented dulicate column names and constraint names.
Added option to propagate primary key attribute change to linked foreign key tables.
Changed Delphi "uses" clauses to use a derivative of the filename of used class.
Improved "Resolve Replication Conflict" dialog and behavior
Allowed creation of read only and write only Delphi properties.
Added support for "Parts" to automatically obtain and keep synchronized any Ports from their type classifier
Added update of connectors for diagram when package element dropped from tree. Previously, connectors for newly dropped Package were not visible immediately
Fixed Activity Parameters to allow their Instance classifiers to be set.
Fixed Class parent behavior on diagrams to show parent aliases if available.
Fixed issue with Alias showing in Project tree when element properties editing from Project tree
Modified tab navigation in main dialogs to use Ctrl+PageUp and Ctrl+PageDown to cycle thru tabs
Modified wrapping behavior of names for Sequence actor, boundary and robustness elements to better handle double byte character sets
Dependency, Include, Extend and Trace icons in UML toolbox modified to have "open arrowhead" image
Some changes to Linux installer to correct intermittent database access errors

Code Template Updates:
  - VB.Net Attribute declaration support of object initialisers.
  - Delphi Operation declaration support for override tagged value.
  - Delphi File changed to use a unit name derived from the filename.
  - Removed Delphi file template overrides for class sterotypes of struct and enumeration.
 


Enterprise Architect Version 4.0

Changes and fixes for Version 4.0 - build 729

Added support for moving self-associations around all edges of an element.
Fixed problem with version control which caused problems with Visual Source Safe when user and password were of a specific type
Fixed issue with reverse engineering source code when using a MySQL repository
Fixed bug when importing java source directory into SQL Server repository and Author greater than 255 chars.
Fixed various reverse engineering bugs involving comments in unusual positions.
Fixed bug where new a new class synched into a file sometimes didn't get all its members.
Fixed error when exporting stereotype reference data from a model file with replication enabled into one without replication enabled
Fixed spurious error reported when upgrading model from 3.6 to 4.0 format (error introduced in build 728 - model was upgraded OK despite error reported).
Corrected issue with Port and Part instances when displaying Attribute dialog
Code Template Updates:
 - Delphi Operation templates to allow for multiple constructors
 - Delphi Parameter template to fix default value
 

Changes and fixes for Version 4.0 - build 728

Added check for self-parent and circular parent object errors in the Data Integrity check.
Added ability to import Linked Requirements into TestCases in the same manner as importing standard Element Requirements
Modified Hierarchy window to include "Connector" and "Delegate" as "LinkTo" connection types
Improved ODBC DDL import of check constraints and table/column comments.
Restricted length of Oracle foreign key names to max of 30 characters.
Fixed DDL Generation of Referential Integrity constraints for Interbase.
Fixed syntax of DDL Generated inline column comments.
Added "use database" option to generate DDL dialogs.
Added refresh of treeview when adding/modifying table attributes/operations.
Added warning about deleting attributes/operations that are part FK relationships.
Added isBehavior notation for UML Ports
Fixed Sequence Diagram behavior to update diagram when message scope is changed
Fixed bug where templates from functions would be given to the following class when reverse engineering C++.
Fixed bug where first parameter was ignored when code was wrapped after the open brace in reverse engineering VB.Net.
The modify property dialogue now loads up the current property values and saves modifications properly.
Added multiplicity notation to UML Ports
Fixed multiplicity notation for UML Parts
Fixed Version Control handling of pipe symbol (|) when using Eap file.
Fixed Type Hierarchy Dialog to properly show Package names of generalized Types.
Fixed bug where method definitions spread over multiple lines in Java didn't import correctly.
Fixed a mouse problem when moving swimlanes in diagrams that are zoomed in or out
Added check to adjust diagram size after performing an auto layout
Modified "Set connector Source and Target" dialog to remove boundary, note and text from the general list
Fixed bug where first attribute of a Visual Basic enumeration was missed.
Added paramNotes macro to Code Template Framework, for accessing parameter notes from code templates
Changed operations dialogue so it wouldn't override an empty return type with "void".
Fixed Import DDL ODBC bug where non-FK relationships are deleted.
Corrected some main menu items which were enabled when no project loaded

Stopped code template macro WRAP_COMMENT from producing an extra line for comments with a length equal to the wrap length.
Fixed bug where self-realizations and self-dependencies were incorrectly drawn with solid lines

Added main menu item to Diagram Menu for managing Diagram Views - included:
 - Close All
 - Close Current
 - Close All Except Current
 - Reload Current
 - Save All

Code Template Updates:
 - C# Operation Declaration and Operation Declaration with property stereotype to resolve interface names
 

Changes and fixes for Version 4.0 - build 727

Fixed DDL generated script syntax for PostgreSQL auto increment/sequences.
Primary key and unique checkboxes made mutually exclusive on Table Attribute dialog.
Added option allowing Data Transfer only between eap files on Professional Edition.
Fixed error that could occur when pressing Escape key in docked note dialog or docked scenario dialog
Added option to change table owner for a package and child packages.
Added code engineering option to prevent Auto Layout of diagrams on synchronisation
Added support for forward synchronizing java package statement
Fixed code generation issue which could cause empty import/using statements to be generated
Fixed position of primary key comma when generating MySQL DDL.
Fixed code generation issue that caused classes to appear to be in the wrong package and not generate as a result.
Fixed diagram hyperlink issue that caused a hyperlink to a deleted diagram to erroneously open an empty diagram.
Fixed syntax of SQL Server DDL generated comments and MySQL foreign keys.
Fixed incorrect DB datatype conversion mapping from Access to Oracle.
Improved syncronization of enumerations.
Fixed tab order of Table Properties Dialog.
Fixed behavior where EA would not prompt the user to save any changes to attributes or operations when the selection in the Project View is changed
Fixed VB code import issue where EA would only import the first property, function or sub it encountered.
Added support for forward synchronization of inner classes
Added support for inserting classes into a Delphi file
Improved speed of forward synchronization
Fixed bug where delegate functions are removed when forward synchronizing C#
More robust parsing of C#, C++ and Java
Added refresh treeview when adding/deleting foreign keys.
Allowed PostgreSQL FK creation of integer datatype into a serial datatype.
Fixed issue that could cause incorrect generation of namespaces for C#, VB .Net and C++


Code Template Updates:
 - C# Operation Declaration to give return type of void if none set
 - C# Operation body always having body of ";" if external method.
 - C++ Class Declaration to allow generation of DLL export macros
 - C++ Class Inherits to remove extraneous white space
 

Changes and fixes for Version 4.0 - build 726

Fixed bug involving C++ reverse engineering method parameters with comments.
Visual Studio.Net now supports For Each of EA automation objects
Fixed DDL script syntax for MySQL tables with auto_increment columns.
Fixed Delphi Code Synchronization issue which prevented properties from being synchronized correctly.
Added Page Up/Page Down/Home/End support for EA Diagram navigation
Fixed issue where element aliases were being incorrectly displayed in the Project Tree
Fixed issue where EA would incorrecly allow duplicate attributes to be created.
Fixed bug on Oracle repository when adding UML pattern to a diagram.
Fixed bug where diagram views were being incorrecly deleted when deleing a package on the Project View.
Added Data Modelling feature where tables, attributes and operations of one DBMS can be mapped to another supported DBMS.
Fixed handling of table owner and DDL syntax for SQL Server database tables.
Modified Sequence diagram to prevent resizing elements to text width at very extreme zoom values
Fixed table owner and DDL syntax for SQL Server and Oracle database tables.
Added option to specify InnoDB table type for MySQL.
Fixed issue with dropping a Part element onto a diagram where its containing parent did not exist
Some optimizations to reduce load time of large diagrams
Optimised speed of XMI Export|Format XML Output
Added option to select clustered or nonclustered primary keys for SQL Server.
Fixed Element.Elements collection to include newly added children elements created by the Automation Interface
Fixed VB Code import to correctly import class notes
Fixed Linux/CrossoverOffice printing issue whereby text was incorrectly printed back-to-front
Fixed issue whereby Part elements were being incorrectly drawn when moved from one parent to another
Modifed how port and part names are displayed in some situations to be consistent with type display
Modified synchronization of Port and Part instances to correct issue when Port or Part is of same Type as Parent (owner)
Several modifications to the XML importer to better support Telelogic XML 1.0 import
Modified handling of "Part" element to support typing in the same manner as Ports
Modified Project Reload function to force a reload of all open diagrams when refreshing the project tree
Fixed issue which caused generation of duplicated associated attributes when no role specified
Fixed bug where RTF Report Format dialog not showing all in Style combo box when on Oracle repository.
 

Changes and fixes for Version 4.0 - build 725

Fixed drawing issue with operations on classes when User defined font set for class. Some operations may revert to standard font after abstract operation.
Corrected issue with some Diagram auto counters referring to wrong diagram type after introduction of UML 2 new diagram types.
Modified Specify Feature Visibility dialog to include option for Port/Part type display in diagrams
Fixed XML immport/export error with Requirement Difficulty and Priority settings.
Added GUI & Misc. support for EA running under CrossoverOffice (Linux)
Generate DDL - removed whitespace after DROP TABLE statement terminator.
Generate DDL - fixed CREATE INDEX syntax for InterBase/Firebird.
Generate DDL - prevented generation of column default values for MS Access CREATE TABLE statements.
Fixed foreign key bug where key references unique column.
Import DDL ODBC - fixed bug when importing MySQL foreign keys.
Import DDL ODBC - fixed recovery if import fails.
Import DDL ODBC - fixed importing of Oracle LONG data type as CLOB datatype.
Fixed MySQL sql syntax when saving/applying UML profile.
Improved array support in C#, C++, Java and VB.Net. (Involved template changes, see below)
Code Template Updates:
 - Linked Attribute Declaration template (for all languages except PHP)
 - Fixed bug causing no type to be generated when multiplicity is set without a Collection type.
 - Fixed bug with unnamed linked attribute getting a name of the class type not the name in the options dialog.
 - Attribute declaration templates updated to provide array support in C#, Java, VB.Net.
 - Parameter VB.Net template also updated for array support.
Added Code Gen option for removing suffixes from attribute names when creating properties
Fixed diagram undo behavior for connector & movable element labels.
Added support for reverse synching inner classes.
Fixed Element.ExtensionPoints AI property so that it contains a comma-separated list of extension points for a use case element
Fixed HTML Report generator dialog to prompt user for output folder if none defined
Fixed minor GUI translation issues
Modified behavior of "Attach Note" context menu item to save diagram state on creation, rather than requiring an explicit manual save
Modified drop behaviour of Actor onto Sequence diagram so that Actor instance displays drawn as Actor icon, not rectangle.
Updated LayoutStyles parameters for Project.LayoutDiagram Automation method.
Fixed sql syntax when loading swimlanes so that sort order is determined by converting a string number representation to a number representation.
Fixed issue with "Locate in Current Diagram" not working correctly
Updated collaboration messages to properly link with linked notes
Modified transfer of EAP model with replication enabled to Oracle (Oracle problem with negative ID values in counter columns)
Modified display of Multiplicity in sequence elements to correct issue for objects that are 'created' during interaction
 

Changes and fixes for Version 4.0 - build 724

Fixed problem with deleting ObjectNode in ProjectTree when ObjectFlow in recently created diagram displays same ObjectNode
Fixed recent file list in Start Page to prevent blank entries showing
Modified Object and Control flow connections to show stereotype if set
Fixed error with Ports when setting the classifier of a Port to the same Class as the Port parent (host)
Modified Project Tree to prevent showing object Alias when it is set in a diagram
Modified dropping of element from Project Tree onto diagram to avoid brief display of element in top left corner
Modified drawing of elements in Sequence diagrams to show multiplicity with numeric inidcator - rather than previous "multi-object" style
Modified Sequence Message connectors to prevent changing to another connector type.
Modified Node element to show Run State items as per EA 3.60
Modified docked note dialog to be disabled when Note element type with linked content is selected
Modified docked note dialog to refresh all elements and linked notes when object note edited in docked note dialog
Modified XMI importer to correctly import Attribute Alias if set
Fixed behaviour wherebye element positions would revert to last saved position when an element was deleted from a diagram
Modified name drawing in Exception Handler element to allow wrapping of name rather than clipping


Code Template Updates:
 - C# Operation Declaration and Operation Declaration with property stereotype
 - Fixed so that a declaration for a class with the Implements tag true generates valid code.
 - Created a tag that the user can add if they want the operation to use Explicit Implementation.
 - C# Class Body, Attribute, Linked Attribute
 - Updated to prevent generation of interface member fields and nested types
 - VB .Net Attribute, Linked Attribute
 - Updated to prevent generation of interface member fields
 - Updated Note templates for C#, Delphi, Java, PHP, VB, VB .Net to remove hardcoded wrap length- option value now used instead
 - Added support for using connector strereotype overrides


Fixed issue with code generation of nested types, which allowed non-class/interface elements to be generated
Updated package code generation dialogue to save auto-generated file paths
Fixed creation of new package reference file where changes made to an existing reference file.
Fixed source directory import to close generated class diagrams on import.
Fixed source directory import to prevent EA from terminating abnormally on import of complex source bases.
Fixed DDL generation where columns have default values.
Updated code generation of import statements to use class member types for C++, C#, Java and VB.Net.
Modified wrap comments option so that it accepts -1 for no line wrap.
Fixed issue with Tag compartment string in Classes for Delphi Classes not being displayed properly
Fixed bug with foreign key relationship into unique constraints
Fixed bug with classes going into wrong namespaces in VB.Net
Fixed issue which could cause incorrect package path to be generated for java
Added hideicon stereotype appearance attribute to UML Profile exporter
Updated manner in which profile stereotypes are applied as new elements such that any appearance settings are applied before showing the properties dialog.
Fixed issue importing exception specifications that include scope resolution operator in C++
Fixed issue to prevent EA from terminating abnormally when an embedded element is created on a UML component.
Fixed issue to prevent EA from terminating abnormally when importing a VB struct.
 

Changes and fixes for Version 4.0 - build 723

Modified EA to allow InteractionFragment to be a child element of another in the Project Tree
Modified list of elements in the Change Element Type dialog to include "Action" type
Fixed error with Change Object Type wherebye element is shown with home package text until diagram reloaded
Fixed error when moving elements with children between packages, whilst corresponding element open in tabbed view
Allowed saving of Selectable flag for elements currently not supported (eg. class, interface, note & etc) on per diagram basis
Fixed clipping problem with a small number of element types when producing RTF documentation and images
Modified drawing of object instances in Sequence diagrams to underline names
Fixed issue with unsaved elements losing recently set color values when same object moved in Project Tree
Fixed issue with creating new elements in SQL Server when template package was set and contained example of new element
Fixed issue with adding new diagrams to the Element.Diagrams collection in automation
Added ability to suppress sequence message parameters in message name by setting diagram "Show Parameter Detail" to None
Increased number of elements which are automatically set as children of ActivityPartition when adding and moving elements on Activity diagram
Modified drag drop handler in Project Tree to reduce number of database calls on action
Improved diagram display of embedded elements when they are moved from one element to another in the project tree
 

Changes and fixes for Version 4.0 - build 722

Fixed problem with UML 2.0 style components when stereotyped with web profile stereotypes. Icon display and component size could be adversely affected
Fixed problem with bounding rectangle calculation when dependent and provided interfaces automatically shown on element
Fixed error wherebye Element "file" dialog duplicated record when name changed, rather than amending it
Fixed error where a deleted elemented could in some cases cause an exception to occur
Fixed problem with SQL Server when loading a new project may throw DB error on Stereotype table
Added ability for Activity to show Tagged Values when draw in Rectangle mode
Some changes to XMI importer to improve import of Telelogic XMI 1.0 exports
Added ability for Activity element whan draw as a Rectangle style to show Tag, requirement and Constraint compartments
Fixed problem with same link in two diagrams currently open when one end of link deleted in one diagram
Fixed layout problem with Interfaces not being included in layout
Modified HTML report generator to link Composite elements (with child diagram) to their target diagrams in HTML image map
Modified EA to prevent dropping duplicate copies of the same Package in a diagram
Added ability to launch files,edit operations and attributes and launch property window from Element Browser window double click
Modified Undo feature to ensure local color settings for elements in a diagram are restored on undo
Modified "Delete froim Tree" method to ensure multiple Ctrl+Del keypresses in quick succession did not causes program errors
Modified Interaction Fragment dialog to correct error with setting partition type that could occur
Improved Multi-Monitor support to correctly detect monitors to the left, above and below the primary monitor (as well as the normal to the right mode)
Modified EA to close newly created diagrams when importing directory structures - this to avoid many open diagrams when import structure is very large
 

Changes and fixes for Version 4.0 - build 721

Fixed error that caused context menus on some elements to display incorrectly when Current Element toolbar visible and Fade menu style chosen
Fixed error with Activity and Action elements when wrapping long element names - name could overrun element boundary in some cases
Fixed foreign key association into column with a unique constraint.
Added "Action" support to the Element in the UML Profile XML.
Added check box on RTF document generator to allow exclusion of "Advanced Properties" - check box named "Extended Properties"
Space evenly - Vertical - problem corrected
Added check to "Move External" function on Element properties/Requirements tab. Checks for valid current record before allowing function to proceed
Corrected problem with diagram tab "Save All" function
Added check box to Swimlane dialog from diagrams - provides ability to suppress Classifier names when set
Fixed missing back slashes in file path when generating package DDL on a PostgreSQL reopository.
Modified display of Attribute and Operation "Alias" in diagrams to only show when Diagram Checkbox "Use Alias" checked.
Diagrams in "Diagram Only" report now supported by Name
Added ability to move elements in project browser directly under View nodes using drag and drop.
 

Changes and fixes for Version 4.0 - build 720

Includes comprehensive support for the new UML 2.0 standard as defined by the OMG (www.omg.org)

Support for all 13 UML 2.0 diagrams and associated diagram elements. Includes:

  Structural Diagrams:
    • Class
    • Object
    • Composite
    • Package
    • Component
    • Deployment

  Behavioral Diagrams:
    • Use Case
    • Communication
    • Sequence
    • Interaction Overview
    • Activity
    • State

   Timing Extensions:
    • Analysis
    • Custom (requirements, UI design)

See HelpFile for detailed information on all the new UML 2 elements
Ability to display inherited operations, attributes, tagged values, constraints and requirements in a class within a diagram
Extended Tagged Value management
Extended UML 2.0 style UML Profiles
Support multiple open diagrams thru tabbed interface
New StartPage to assist opening and managaing Projects and Profile
Ability to customize UML Toolbox contents thru personal Profile
Update to RTF and HTML generator to handle embedded elements
Automation Interface updates and extensions (see help file)
Add-In interface modified to support additional integration with EA user interface. See help file for more details on writing new add-ins.
Code Engineering updates and fixes
DDL and database modeling enhancements and fixes
Moveable partitions within State and Activity nodes using mouse
Improved context menus for Objects and Connectors in diagrams
XML import/export improvements
PostgreSQL support as a DBMS back-end repository
Sybase ASA support as a DBMS back-end repository

** Many other bug fixes and enhancements

See BETA release notes for additional fixes and enhancements made during the Beta release period.

You dont have to include a long release history.

If you just want to do some simple UML, try Jude. It's easy to use and FREE.

http://objectclub.esm.co.jp/Jude/jude-e.html

For me, I'm happy with it.

I agree. Compared to anything else you can get for free, Jude is by far the best.

Hi Folks,

Having tried (and failed) to sell the idea of buying Rational Rose for $XXX to management, and finding Open Source UML tools did not provide the support, we finally reached a compromise with Enterprise Architect. From $125 per license.

I have been using it ever since and have been recommending it to clients. It's well featured and fast.

http://www.sparxsystems.com.au/

I thought everyone on the serverside would have heard of it....

Cheers

we finally reached a compromise with Enterprise Architect. From $125 per license. I have been using it ever since and have been recommending it to clients. It's well featured and fast.

Been using EA here since 6 months also. As it happens, I also visited another company which was using it too. Those guys seemed surprised I had even heard of it, but it certainly seems to be gaining momentum.

For the set of features it has, the quality/price is hard to beat. As a source generation tool, it still has some way to go though.

Only drawback of the desktop edition is that it uses an Access back-end, and doesn't really support multiple concurrent users. The Corporate edition allows you to use most database servers as a back-end, and features better security and locking for concurrent modification. IMO, at 225$, and one year free upgrades, it's still a steal.

I don't need the majority of UML diagrams, just sequence and class. Any free tools that support round trip? I like to modify code and see the diagram refresh. Modify the diagram and see the code refresh. Together 6 does this perfectly but it's too expensive for the projects I'm working on. I did a search on the Eclipse plugins and couldn't find any that do this. It doesn't seem that difficult to parse source code and refresh a class diagram when the source changes. If this doesn't exist it'd be a good opportunity for a new open source project.

I looked at Omondo and they used to have free but it's eclipse 2.1.x and now with their studio it's no longer free. So it looks like Omondo won't have a free solution for eclipse 3.

I have to admit by being shocked to see the questions here asking if anyone actually uses round tripping. Isn't it an absolute must?

Round trip is really about model driven development. Note by model driven development I definately _dont_ mean MDA - which I am a lot more cynical about in its current form.

The most productive developers/ designers do their development in a model driven platform.

Comparing a code only developer to a model driven developer is like comparing:
-a seek and destroy (two finger) typist to a touch typer
-a "do it the hard way" vi swing developer versus a netbeans/ jbuilder/ other wysiwyg swing developer

The subject is saturated in all architecture and design literature, but let me list the main points again:
-doing your modeling is a design and development activity, _not_ a documentation task
  +a UML model is a _very_ malleable medium. Its one hell of a lot faster and cheaper to create/shuffle/refactor thousands of lines of code in a tool like together then it is to do this in your IDE (and I'm an eclipse fanatic).
  +the nice documentation (communication vehicle) that is produced is merely a nice side affect of your design and development activity!
  +most of the value is lost if you are not using a round trip tool. Haven't you seen organisations trying to use visio as their modeling tool?

-UML abstracts things to the right level of detail - your design improves because you are concentrating on the right stuff at the right time

-UML documentation that doesn't stay in sync is worthless once development has started (ever had to re-sync a together model? you just go around and right click on all the "red" spots that have lost sync, and shortly everything is back to sync)

-fallacy: "only the architect/ designer in the team needs to be doing the UML design"
  +This is the line that comes from the managers paying the bills for the modeling tool. Truth is the whole team should be doing half the development in the modeling tool and the other half in the code.

==

Personally I like RUP, but it doesn't matter what method you are using for your analysis, eventually you are going to come up some sort of an object model.

Steps:
1. each team member: create / rename/ shuffle classes
2. string them all together with sequence diagrams, creating the methods as you
go if they don't existing already
3. sit around and work through the whole teams designs, reconciling and tidying the design (put in your inheritance, frameworks, remove redundancy, etc)
4. everyone goes away and fills in the method bodies, until next iteration

==

In my experience there is a certain "threshold" that needs to be reached before ppl truly grok model driven development. Once ppl reach that threshhold, there is no turning back.

I do not work for Borland. I absolutely hate the prices they charge for it, and this "free" release is worse then useless - it steers ppl towards thinking modeling is a documentation task.

That said, none of the competition even comes close. I've never achieved the same productivity levels with Rational or Enterprise Architect (from Sparx).

(Enterprise Architect is be great value for money however; it does forward and reverse and the modeling is pretty good).

The eclipse plugin is a good way to go as it integrates quite well with eclipse and wsad (only 2.1 until november sadly).

I really look forward to there finally being a usable open source model driven development tool, but I'm not sure it will come any day soon.

<hugh>
I have to admit by being shocked to see the questions here asking if anyone actually uses round tripping. Isn't it an absolute must?
</hugh>

Nope, round-trip is not a must. If you are talking about "model driven" this means that your model drives the development. So, your "sourcecode" is actually your "model". The development lifecycle would be:
1. Model in UML or other Domain Specific Languages, which are based on MOF.
2. Compile the model to transform it into another models or implementations.
3. Implement your implementation platform in a programming language like Java.
4. Compile the Java implementation to get the binary classes.
5. Execute the application.
6. Goto 1.

This is just comparable with compiling your Java code into the binary forms (classes). You will *never ever* need to make a round-trip (from your class files into Java files) in your development lifecycle.

One thing to add:
It is useless to have the model (model view) in the same abstraction level with the sourcecode (text view), which is typical for two-ways-tools. Your model must have a higher abstraction level than your code, just like Java code to compare with the binary "class" file. Therefore IMO, tools like Together (with two-ways-tools) is not a big help. The main part here is the "transformation".

This is quite different for a GUI builder: the same abstraction level (text and graphical)! The graphical view of a GUI builder is just the better view.

Check out this discussion at TSS for more information:
https://www.theserverside.com/news/thread.tss?thread_id=26853

Lofi.
http://ejosa.sourceforge.net

Hi Lofi,
I agree completely with your description of "model driven development". I took the liberty of using to the term to describe development where two approaches are used interchangably, at the same time; which is not strictly model driven development.

<quote>
One thing to add:
It is useless to have the model (model view) in the same abstraction level with the sourcecode (text view), which is typical for two-ways-tools. Your model must have a higher abstraction level than your code, just like Java code to compare with the binary "class" file. Therefore IMO, tools like Together (with two-ways-tools) is not a big help. The main part here is the "transformation".
</quote>

If you are talking model driven driven development in the strictest sense, I might agree with you :)

However, I see very significant productivity and quality gains from using both perspectives alongside one another. Right tool for the right job.

Doing changes at a structural level? Defining how multiple objects are going to interact? Use the UML view to rapidly make these changes.

Working on method bodies? Jump to a code perspective and change the code that way.

I've been doing developing this way for some years now, and will never go back to plain old code only in a code perspective.

That said, I'm sure I could be converted to model driven development in the purest sense, but have yet to experience it working in the good old pragmatic world. (I'd love to see some studies of the system maintenance cycle of an MDA project).

cheers,
Hugh

Hi Hugh,

<quote>
Doing changes at a structural level? Defining how multiple objects are going to interact? Use the UML view to rapidly make these changes.
Working on method bodies? Jump to a code perspective and change the code that way.
</quote>

Agree with you :-) Therefore I use the term MDA (Model Driven Architecture) and SCD (Sourcecode Centric Development) in my EJOSA project :-) see => http://ejosa.sourceforge.net


<quote>
I'd love to see some studies of the system maintenance cycle of an MDA project
</quote>

One study I found from TSS:
"Approach: A Maintenance Productivity Analysis"
http://www.middlewareresearch.com/endeavors/040305CWMDAMAINT/endeavor.jsp

Cheers,
Lofi.

Like most people here I crave something that will show me Java code as UML diagrams. I started my own extension to Violet UML and got something pretty decent working, but then I found this:

http://essmodel.sourceforge.net/

It does the job.

Oracle JDeveloper has a decent UML <-> code tool built-in. Updates to the code reflects on the model and vice versa. Associations, aggregation etc. are nice to manage through the UML diagram. You can also import classes and packages into the diagram.

It only does class diagrams though, and doesn't have all UML elements. Hopefully they'll move it further in coming versions. Personally I like it.

I used to be a huge TJ fan and user. I stopped using it around 4.5 when I changed jobs. I have tried the Eclipse version and I was really, really disappointed with it. The one thing I loved was the constant round trip. The second best feature was the JavaDoc generation with hyperlinked diagrams. The third, and a pet peeve of mine, is being able to make the diagram visually look nice. Yea it is just cosmetic, but a nice looking diagram is well, just nice looking, and TJ did it better than anyone else.

We evaluated using the eclipse version for our WSAD tool, but for the price we decided not to use it. It was just too expensive and we went with Omondo instead (free). I think TJ suffered from the problem that most IDEs and tools did, feature bloat. Just give a me a really good UML tool, leave off all the frills (who really wants another Swing visual editor in their UML tool anyway?) and I'm a happy developer.

This product has been in the making for several years and currently features as much if not more technological advances than "Together". It's SDE compliant (IDE-agnostic), thus it easily integrates with your IDE either be Eclipse, Netbeans, JBuilder, JDeveloper, IntelliJ or WebLogic.

Give it a shot and dare to compare it with "Together". You wont be dissapointed!

www.visual-paradigm.com

Hey thanks everybody... good to know the response to this. ( I am from Borland myself)you can reach me at asharma at borland dot com / abillionblueflashes at yahoo dot com
cheers
Anita