Re: [jamboost] Re: V2 UML diagrams

From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2003-01-13 08:52:04

Vladimir Prus <ghost_at_[hidden]> writes:

> David Abrahams wrote:
>> Vladimir Prus <ghost_at_[hidden]> writes:
>> 
>> 
>>>David Abrahams wrote:
>>>
>>>>Vladimir Prus <ghost_at_[hidden]> writes:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>I've just uploaded a couple of UML diagrams to
>>>>>
>>>>> http://boost.sourceforge.net/boost-build2/diagrams/
>>>>>
>>>>>The first shows main classes, 
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>I understand that, and as you can see I've transcribed it into the
>>>>relevant .jam files.
>>>
>>>Thanks! I'm yet not on speaking terms with emacs picture-mode,
>>>so hardly could do that. BTW, they look very nice!
>> 
>> 
>> I've forgotten more than I once knew, so it was harder than it
>> should've been ;-)
>> 
>> Basically, you just do M-x "picture mode" C-h C-b and see what you've
>> got to work with. I have a few additional rules I wrote for rectangle
>> manipulation in my .emacs:
>
> I've tried that. The biggest problem is that when I have to add a method,
> this is very hard.

You have to cut the bottom of the rectangle with kill-rectangle, and
re-paste it lower down. Sometimes you need to select larger
rectangles to open space. A little painful, but not *too* bad.
Anyway, it makes sense to draw it by hand first if you have the
opportunity.

>> What's the blob on the left which is the source of the first generate
>> message?
>
> I would have asked the scanner if it could talk. Just ignore it.

<g>

>>>After that, v1 is actualized, as shown by the following messages.
>> 
>> 
>> What is the self-referential loop on V1?
>
> It means that after getting target path from action, v1 sets it's own 
> location. There's no "set-location" method, but I thought the actual
> details (call to "LOCATE", etc) are not that relevant.

OK.

>>>>>2. Is the quality OK? (There're scanned from hand-drawings).
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>IMO the scan quality is OK, but the hand-drawings need to be cleaner
>>>>if they're going to communicate well, which is why I converted them to
>>>>ASCII.
>>>
>>>What should be improved, precisely. Looking at them now, I see that
>>>text is probably less readable than it should. The arrows looks
>>>good, however :-)
>> 
>> 
>> It's usable, just messy. Messiness is distracting and interferes with
>> understanding. Laying things out without overlapping elements
>> (e.g. lines), where possible, also helps.
>
> Hmm... the compromise between nice look (which UML editors give) and
> convenient (it's very easy to use pencil) is hard to find. 

Nothing beats pencil for convenience, and often, expressivity. I used
to write music notation software and was constantly competing with the
composer's pencil (and losing).

> Problems with adding a new method keeps me somewhat dissatisfied
> with picture mode, either.

Understood.

-- 
David Abrahams
dave_at_[hidden] * http://www.boost-consulting.com
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