The ObjectAid UML Explorer for Eclipse

The ObjectAid UML Explorer is an agile and lightweight code visualization tool for the Eclipse IDE. It shows your Java source code and libraries in live UML class and sequence diagrams that automatically update as your code changes. The image below is a class diagram of actual source code; click on it to see the editor in the Eclipse Java Perspective.

News

March 23, 2013

Version 1.1.2 brings another enhancement for the Diagram Add-On: A toolbar that makes it easier to change display options on classes in class diagrams. It also fixes several smaller issues, details are in the Download section.

February 28, 2013

Release 1.1.1 fixes several smaller issues, details are in the Download section.

February 19, 2013

The new Diagram Add-On is now available in version 1.1.0. It brings you features that many of you have been asking for: text notes, more export formats (SVG, PDF), the ability to hide property accessors, different colors for diagram nodes and a lot more.

All Sequence Diagram licenses have been upgraded to version 1.1.x. If your purchased license is in online mode, your local copy of the license should be upgraded in Eclipse automatically or when you press the 'Renew' button in the ObjectAid preferences. For offline and evaluation licenses, you will have to get your upgraded license from the web site and install it in Eclipse.

November 9, 2012

1.0.11 is a small bug fix release, mainly to remedy a problem with Eclipse 4.2.1.

Also ObjectAid is happy to announce the Diagram Add-On, a commercial plug-in bringing completely new features that many of you have been asking for: text notes in diagrams, more export formats (SVG, PDF), the ability to hide property accessors, different colors for diagram nodes and a lot more. No release date has been set yet, but you can expect it within the next few months.

August 25, 2012

Version 1.0.10 improves dependency detection for class diagrams and 'Add Called Operations' for sequence diagrams. The latter will now use the most specific overriding method available in the current context. And of course some bugs are fixed as well.

June 4, 2012

Version 1.0.9 makes ObjectAid compatible with the upcoming Eclipse 4.2 (Juno) release; testing was done with 4.2-M6 and 4.2-M7. Also 'Add Called Operations' now uses existing diagram objects if their name corresponds to a field or variable in the code. And do I need to mention the bug fixes?

April 26, 2012

Version 1.0.8 makes the Sequence Diagram context menu 'Add Called Operations' available on static methods. Also it is now possible to hide stereotypes in Class Diagrams. The context menus in the Class and Sequence Diagram have been flattened and in some cases reordered, please see the Eclipse documentation for details (or just try it out). The usual complement of bug fixes is in this release as well.

Feb 4, 2012

Version 1.0.7 has a few bug fixes, details are as usual in the Download section.
Please note that we are in the process of deactivating accounts with invalid email addresses. For any issues with disabled accounts, please contact us.

Dec 27, 2011

In version 1.0.6, diagram-specific console output has been converted to markers that appear in the Problems view. Also an issue that prevented the opening of sequence diagrams in some cases has been fixed.

Dec 15, 2011

Version 1.0.5 introduces online licenses and volume-based discounts, please see the Products section for details. Online licenses make it easy to manage larger license pools.
The creation of sequence diagrams from stack frames and stack traces has been simplified by showing a selection of open Sequence Diagrams when none is active. Also new call sequences are appended to the currently selected message.

July 27, 2011

Version 1.0.4 shows a hovering tooltip over lifelines in sequence diagrams, so that objects can be easily identified when scrolled down. Various bugs have been fixed as well.

June 25, 2011

Version 1.0.3 mainly fixes an issue with JDK 7/Eclipse 3.7, along with some smaller bugs.

May 26, 2011

Version 1.0.2 brings you configuration of diagram fonts and colors. In the Eclipse Preferences dialog, please go to General > Appearance > Colors and Fonts to check it out.
Numerous bugs have been squashed as well, please see the Download section for details. One of the fixes prints messages into the ObjectAid Console, telling you that you should save your diagram. That is all you have to do and the message will not appear again.

Feb 25, 2011

Version 1.0.1 fixes a sequence diagram issue that prevented the reverse engineering of stack frames from the Debug view in some cases. As a consequence, the operations on some messages in existing sequence diagrams may be lost. The console view will tell you which (if any) sequence diagrams are impacted.
The license encryption has been changed to support the IBM J9 JVM which is used by the IBM Rational Application Developer. Existing licenses will continue to work as before, but licenses received by any means from today on require an upgrade to version 1.0.1 because 1.0.0 cannot deal with the new licenses.

Jan 26, 2011

The Sequence Diagram Editor is now available, please see the Download section for details. To use the Sequence Diagram Editor you need a license, which you can obtain once you have created an Account. You can have one free evaluation license per account, or purchase as many user licenses as you like. The introductory price for a license is 19 USD.
The Class Diagram Editor has reached version 1.0 and received mostly bug fixes. Please also note that the URL of the update site has changed.

Why Another UML Tool?

The ObjectAid UML Explorer is different from other UML tools. It uses the UML notation to show a graphical representation of existing code that is as accurate and up-to-date as your text editor, while being very easy to use. Several unique features make this possible:

You simply drag your Java classes onto a diagram from other Eclipse views; no need to start a lengthy reverse engineering job.
Your source code and libraries are the model that is displayed, they are not reverse engineered into a different format.
If you update your code in Eclipse, your diagram is updated as well; there is no need to reverse engineer source code.
Refactoring updates your diagram as well as your source code. When you rename a field or move a class, your diagram simply reflects the changes without going out of sync.
All diagrams in your Eclipse workspace are updated with refactoring changes as appropriate. If necessary, they are checked out of your version control system.
Diagrams are fully integrated into the Eclipse IDE. You can drag Java classes from any other view onto the diagram, and diagram-related information is shown in other views wherever applicable.

The ObjectAid UML Explorer achieves all this while staying light, fast and easy to use. In addition, exploring code is easy because you can find and add related classes with a right-click from the context menu.

Here are some thoughts about the ObjectAid UML Explorer by other people: