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Suggestions for a diagram drawing program.

by Roger Oberholtzer

Hi all. I am soon to embark on a flurry of system documentation. As a part of this, diagrams showing the layout of both hardware, software, data flow and processing will be done. The things to be presented are rather complicated in that there are many components and many connections between the components. I have done diagrams in the past, but have never been wowed by the software. I'm sure a part of that is my experience with the software. But I think that I might also have chosen poorly. Right tool for the task and all that. So, I am looking at the alternatives. My preference is something that runs on multiple platforms (Linux and Windows). To be honest, a Web tool it not out of the question. Except it would be nice to have the diagrams saved locally for use over a long period of time. It is not a one off thing. These diagrams need to be maintained and by perhaps more than one person. At least over time. Interactive diagrams where the viewer can click and get more details or related diagrams would be nice. Having everything in a monster diagram seems like a bad approach. On the other hand, including the diagrams in other documents that might not be dynamic is needed. So, if you have used any such tools (especially on Linux), what are your experiences? And I expecting too much? I have looked at programs like dia. It seems rather basic. But that might just be my knowledge of what it can do. I have also used programs that let you specify the diagram in a text file and it lays out the diagram. That has been fine for simple diagrams. But when the diagrams reach any realistic complexity, the layout is often something that one must struggle with. All pointers are welcome. I have looked at various discussions of this but they are typically so superficial that they provide no real information. I am willing to investigate alternatives. -- Roger Oberholtzer

3 years, 3 months

Re: Suggestions for a diagram drawing program.

by Vojtěch Zeisek

Dne pondělí 4. října 2021 13:16:03 CEST, Roger Oberholtzer napsal(a): > Hi all. > I am soon to embark on a flurry of system documentation. As a part of > this, diagrams showing the layout of both hardware, software, data > flow and processing will be done. The things to be presented are > rather complicated in that there are many components and many > connections between the components. > I have done diagrams in the past, but have never been wowed by the > software. I'm sure a part of that is my experience with the software. > But I think that I might also have chosen poorly. Right tool for the > task and all that. > So, I am looking at the alternatives. My preference is something that > runs on multiple platforms (Linux and Windows). To be honest, a Web > tool it not out of the question. Except it would be nice to have the > diagrams saved locally for use over a long period of time. It is not a > one off thing. These diagrams need to be maintained and by perhaps > more than one person. At least over time. > Interactive diagrams where the viewer can click and get more details > or related diagrams would be nice. Having everything in a monster > diagram seems like a bad approach. On the other hand, including the > diagrams in other documents that might not be dynamic is needed. > So, if you have used any such tools (especially on Linux), what are > your experiences? And I expecting too much? I have looked at programs > like dia. It seems rather basic. But that might just be my knowledge > of what it can do. I have also used programs that let you specify the > diagram in a text file and it lays out the diagram. That has been fine > for simple diagrams. But when the diagrams reach any realistic > complexity, the layout is often something that one must struggle with. > All pointers are welcome. I have looked at various discussions of this > but they are typically so superficial that they provide no real > information. I am willing to investigate alternatives. I sometimes use http://www.insilmaril.de/vym/ https://software.opensuse.org/ package/vym but I don't know if it has all the functions You wish. -- Vojtěch Zeisek https://trapa.cz/ Komunita openSUSE GNU/Linuxu Community of the openSUSE GNU/Linux https://www.opensuse.org/

3 years, 3 months

Re: Suggestions for a diagram drawing program.

by Per Jessen

Roger Oberholtzer wrote: > So, if you have used any such tools (especially on Linux), what are > your experiences? And I expecting too much? I have looked at programs > like dia. It seems rather basic. But that might just be my knowledge > of what it can do. I have also used programs that let you specify the > diagram in a text file and it lays out the diagram. That has been fine > for simple diagrams. But when the diagrams reach any realistic > complexity, the layout is often something that one must struggle with. > > All pointers are welcome. I have looked at various discussions of this > but they are typically so superficial that they provide no real > information. I am willing to investigate alternatives. For the last many years, in my company, we have managed fairly well with LibreOffice drawings. Typically network diagrams, state machines, flow charts maybe, process documentation. Not very demanding or complex I would say, but I thought it was worth mentiong. Before that, there was a tool, Visi-something, that was eventually acquired by Microsoft. I remember a few people swearing by it. -- Per Jessen, Zürich (15.1°C) http://www.dns24.ch/ - your free DNS host, made in Switzerland.

3 years, 3 months

Re: Suggestions for a diagram drawing program.

by Roger Oberholtzer

I think that one very useful feature is snapping to a grid so things look tidy. And being able to group and ungroup things to form different units. I will look at LibreOffice again. I have not used the drawing part in a very long time. On Mon, Oct 4, 2021 at 1:28 PM Per Jessen <per(a)computer.org> wrote: > > Roger Oberholtzer wrote: > > > So, if you have used any such tools (especially on Linux), what are > > your experiences? And I expecting too much? I have looked at programs > > like dia. It seems rather basic. But that might just be my knowledge > > of what it can do. I have also used programs that let you specify the > > diagram in a text file and it lays out the diagram. That has been fine > > for simple diagrams. But when the diagrams reach any realistic > > complexity, the layout is often something that one must struggle with. > > > > All pointers are welcome. I have looked at various discussions of this > > but they are typically so superficial that they provide no real > > information. I am willing to investigate alternatives. > > For the last many years, in my company, we have managed fairly well with > LibreOffice drawings. Typically network diagrams, state machines, flow > charts maybe, process documentation. Not very demanding or complex I > would say, but I thought it was worth mentiong. > > Before that, there was a tool, Visi-something, that was eventually > acquired by Microsoft. I remember a few people swearing by it. > > > > -- > Per Jessen, Zürich (15.1°C) > http://www.dns24.ch/ - your free DNS host, made in Switzerland. -- Roger Oberholtzer

3 years, 3 months

Re: [opensuse] diagram editor

by Anton Aylward

Eric Gunther said the following on 01/04/2013 11:09 AM: > not sure if one can use it on opensuse, but have you seen freemind? > > http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page Freemind, ad it's more interesting fork, Freeplane, are MIND MAPPERS. They are not generic diagramming tools and don't have libraries of 'components'. They are great tools, for what they do, but doing up network diagrams is not part of that. I'd still like to hear what the objections the OP's end users have to the output of Dia. Specifics as opposed to a generic "it ain't Microsoft", because we know full well that there are many GUI tools that do on Windows what MS-Office does, OpenOffice and LibreOffice among them. Is this an objection that might apply to other Windows-based diagramming tools? I ask, because I grew up in England and was used to the way electronic circuit diagrams were drawn in English textbooks, but had problems when I came to North America because different conventions were used (e.g. in the ARRL handbooks). Is it just stylistic? Do the object to the "icons"? What? -- "I don't mind a parasite, I object to a cut-rate one" -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe(a)opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner(a)opensuse.org

12 years

Re: Suggestions for a diagram drawing program.

by Anton Aylward

Start at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_vector_graphics_editors > So, if you have used any such tools (especially on Linux), what are > your experiences? And I expecting too much? I have looked at programs > like dia. It seems rather basic. But that might just be my knowledge > of what it can do. I have also used programs that let you specify the > diagram in a text file and it lays out the diagram. That has been fine > for simple diagrams. But when the diagrams reach any realistic > complexity, the layout is often something that one must struggle with. I likes Dia. it's real power lay in the ability to create 'layers' that cold show different info about a model. Sadly that's electronic and can't work with hard copy. Yes, out-of-the-box it is VERY basic and as such almost useless. But so was VisiDraw. it just autoloaded a few packages. You _can_ set up Dia to do that too. IIR they were called 'sheets' but were libraries. You could also look at xfig, for a variety of more free-form figures. Xfig is a vector graphics modelling tool which makes scaling easier. https://orng.org/#%F0%9F%8F%A0%F0%9F%94%B8%F0%9F%93%90%F0%9F%94%B8%F0%9F%A4… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xfig > All pointers are welcome. I have looked at various discussions of this > but they are typically so superficial that they provide no real > information. I am willing to investigate alternatives. > -- “Reality is so complex, we must move away from dogma, whether it’s conspiracy theories or free-market,” -- James Glattfelder. http://jth.ch/jbg

3 years, 3 months

Re: [opensuse] diagram editor

by Eric Gunther

2 cents, when I saw dia, it seemed rather stark. This was a while ago, but then, I am not an electrical engineer. -e On Fri, 2013-01-04 at 11:40 -0500, Anton Aylward wrote: > Eric Gunther said the following on 01/04/2013 11:09 AM: > > not sure if one can use it on opensuse, but have you seen freemind? > > > > http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page > > Freemind, ad it's more interesting fork, Freeplane, are MIND MAPPERS. > They are not generic diagramming tools and don't have libraries of > 'components'. They are great tools, for what they do, but doing up > network diagrams is not part of that. > > I'd still like to hear what the objections the OP's end users have to > the output of Dia. Specifics as opposed to a generic "it ain't > Microsoft", because we know full well that there are many GUI tools that > do on Windows what MS-Office does, OpenOffice and LibreOffice among > them. Is this an objection that might apply to other Windows-based > diagramming tools? > > I ask, because I grew up in England and was used to the way electronic > circuit diagrams were drawn in English textbooks, but had problems when > I came to North America because different conventions were used (e.g. in > the ARRL handbooks). Is it just stylistic? Do the object to the > "icons"? What? > > -- > "I don't mind a parasite, I object to a cut-rate one" -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe(a)opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner(a)opensuse.org

12 years

Re: [SLE] ER diagramming tools

by Mark Gray

Robert Fenney <rfenney(a)fentek.com> writes: > Does anyone have a suggestion for an ER diagramming tool? I looked at > the one offered by theKompany but it didn't work very well for me. Has > anyone used it? xfig does simple ones, but you might want to check out: Title TCM - Toolkit for Conceptual Modeling Current URL http://wwwhome.cs.utwente.nl/~tcm/ I have never used it, but the documentation for Entity Relationship Diagrams looks like its support is very complete and well done (and it is GPLed)

21 years, 11 months

Re: [SLE] Best file format

by Harry G

It looks good, but what I am doing is storing the diagrams, etc. on a web site for download. I use Oracle Small Business on line accounting software, and it allows you to store docs and images for download. This particular use is for wiring diagrams for service being done in the field on equipment. A technician can access the file through any customers PC that has internet access, so reams of diagrams don't have to be carried in the service truck. Unfortunately, the more disk space used for this, the more it costs me. So what I need is the format that preserves readability with the smallest amount of space used that can be opened by W$ and Linux. Harry G On Sat December 28 2002 9:53 am, Alexandr Malusek wrote: > zentara <zentara(a)zentara.net> writes: > > >I need to scan some small wiring diagrams, drawings, etc. but the > > >file size is important. > > > > > >Which tends to be smaller, tiff, bmp, etc? > > > > The convert them to .jpg at a about 70% quality > > setting in Gimp. Your jpgs should look good and > > be about 40k. > > JPEG is good for photographs but I wouldn't use it for line drawings. > > See DjVu (http://www.djvuzone.org/) For scanned documents, the DjVu > format gives excellent quality and size. I don't understand why so few > people use it. > > SuSE 8.1 contains djvulibre-3.5.8-22.rpm.

22 years

Re: [SLE] ER diagramming tools

by p_s

Mark Gray wrote: > Robert Fenney <rfenney(a)fentek.com> writes: > > >>Does anyone have a suggestion for an ER diagramming tool? I looked at >>the one offered by theKompany but it didn't work very well for me. Has >>anyone used it? > > > xfig does simple ones, but you might want to check out: > > Title TCM - Toolkit for Conceptual Modeling > Current URL http://wwwhome.cs.utwente.nl/~tcm/ > > I have never used it, but the documentation for Entity Relationship > Diagrams looks like its support is very complete and well done (and it > is GPLed) > > Dia fills my need when doing UML etc... can't recall now if it's good wuth ER as well chack out at: http://www.lysator.liu.se/~alla/dia/ P_s

21 years, 11 months

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