My Little UML (Tools) Page

This page is no longer maintained. I'm now using the draw.io website for my simple UML diagrams, while MagicDraw is still my go-to for more complex modelling. -- MWG December 2018

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Feedback is welcome (also see the feedback page), especially if you have information about a tool that's died out or is being marketed under a new name. Be warned that some of these listings are a few years old!

Background and Context

I (and others) teach a course in software requirements at the University of Waterloo. For Fall 1999, we switched notations from OMT to UML, and we went looking for a reasonable UML tool. We had been using Software Through Pictures (OMT version) but we were unhappy with its reliability and general usability.

Our primary requirements for the new UML tool were

Second-tier requirements included that the tool should run on our Solaris boxes, since we have relatively few PCs running Windows. We found that some of the tools below have Unix ports, while others are "pure Java".

We did not require support for features that many CASE tools provide, such as UML design diagrams, or for reverse engineering or code generation. All of these factors bear on the comments below. Your mileage may vary depending on your own requirements!

Disclaimer The views on this page are personal opinions. I have not accepted and will not accept money, favours, or similar rewards for comments on any tool mentioned on this page. Some of the vendors below have given me free versions of their software to try out, but that's it.

What tools do *I* use?

Currently (summer 2005), I use OmniGraffle for simple UML diagrams, and I use MagicDraw for more complex diagrams, where the underlying model needs to be represented explicitly.

Some open source tools

Some commercial tools that support UML diagrams that I've at least had a look at

Other UML Tools I haven't looked at much (because I don't have time and frankly I doubt I will anytime soon), but the author/company that made them shamelessly asked me to add them to my list anyway

No endorsements implied for these tools; I haven't looked at 'em seriously.

CASE Graveyard

The following UML tools seem to have died.

Selected Feedback on this page

Some more UML information


Michael W. Godfrey PhD, Professor
David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, CANADA
Office: DC2340
email:
URL: http://www.uwaterloo.ca/~migod


Last modification: Wednesday February 28, 2007 at 08:26:09 (EST)