[wingide-users] Coupling WingIDE with an UML editor

[Wolfgang Keller]

Hello,

sorry for "butting in", but...

>> DO you think it's possible to integrate an UML editor like gaphor
>> inside Wing ?
>
> It's on our list of high-level features we'ld like to add at some
> point and
> it's certainly possible.  However, I can't really comment on when.
> It's
> desirable from a sales standpoint (juicy feature for check list), but
> ranks
> lower when compared to other features as far as how often it's
> actually
> requested.

"Pros": (all IMHO, of course)

- UML is "in"
- CXOs _love_ those diagrams, especially if they're colored >;->
- a class diagram re-engineered from code can be nice to check things 
visually or to document nigh-level structures of the "ontology" of a 
script/application

"Cons":

- in a Java project I have found forward engineering from class 
diagrams to code to be essentially useless - typing sourcecode is 
faster, more complete, less bug-prone, executable, testable...
- "flowchart programming" may be nice for the occasional scripting 
dilettant (like me), but as soon as you start to do "serious" 
non-trivial work... :-/ If you read german, see e.g.: 
http://www.schiffer.at/publications/se-96-19/se-96-19.htm for an 
opinion on the subject that seems to be quite educated to me
- in the same Java project I have found other diagram types than class 
diagrams to be essentially useless for forward code generation, reverse 
engineering seemed to be essentially impossible
- "behaviour" modeling with UML seems a _lot_ less "literate" to me 
than well-written Python code with ReST comments/tests/documentation in 
the sourcecode - after all, I have found Python to have "literate 
programming" built right into the language itself, even more so 
together with with ReST
- UML is quite un-pythonic and low-level - UML 2 "profiles" are a 
_must_ imho
- I could not find a way to exchange UML diagrams of non-trivial 
complexity between any two different "modeling" tools - export/import 
_always_ failed
- BTW: I have found _all_ Java-based GUI modeling tools I've tried so 
far (including $$$ commercial ones) to be essentially useless for 
models of non-trivial size and complexity, they _all_ choked 
miserablyat ca. >50 classes (memory got leaked like from a barrel 
without a bottom)

Finally:
- MetaEdit looks like it could be a _lot_ more useful for real-world 
practical Python applications than _any_ UML-based "modeling" tool that 
I've seen so far for Java - Apparently it also allows to do Petri Nets, 
ER modeling etc...

Just my 0.01€ of course. >;->

Sincerely,

Wolfgang Keller