To be able to generate those diagrams, you must have Graphviz_software installed on your machine in the default directory c:\Program Files\GraphvizX.XX or /usr/bin/dot. You can have_a_look_here_if_you_have_installed_Graphviz_somewhere_else. Let's have a fews examples :

Components must be bracketed. You can also use the component keyword to defines a component. And you can define an alias, using the as keyword. This alias will be used latter, when defining relations. <uml t=“component”>

[First component] [Another component] as Comp2 component Comp3 component [Last\ncomponent] as Comp4

</uml>

Interface can be defined using the () symbol (because this looks like a circle). You can also use the interface keyword to defines an interface. And you can define an alias, using the as keyword. This alias will be used latter, when defining relations. We will see latter that interface definition is optional. <uml t=“component_001”>

() “First Interface” () “Another interface” as Interf2 interface Interf3 interface “Last\ninterface” as Interf4

</uml>

Links between elements are made using combinations of dotted line (..), straight line (–), and arrows (–>) symbols. <uml t=“component_002”>

DataAccess - [First Component] [First Component] ..> HTTP : use

</uml>

You can use the note left of , note right of , note top of , note bottom of keywords to define notes related to a single object. A note can be also define alone with the note keywords, then linked to other objects using the .. symbol. <uml t=“component_003”>

interface “Data Access” as DA

DA - [First Component] [First Component] ..> HTTP : use

note left of HTTP : Web Service only

note right of [First Component]

A note can also
be on several lines

end note

</uml>

You can use several keywords to group components and interfaces together:

• package
• node
• folder
• frame
• cloud
• database

<uml t=“component_004”>

package “Some Group” {

HTTP - [First Component]
[Another Component]

}

node “Other Groups” {

FTP - [Second Component]
[First Component] --> FTP

}

cloud {

[Example 1]

}

database “MySql” {

folder "This is my folder" {
  [Folder 3]
}
frame "Foo" {
  [Frame 4]
}

}

[Another Component] –> [Example 1] [Example 1] –> [Folder 3] [Folder 3] –> [Frame 4]

</uml>

By default, links between classes have two dashes – and are vertically oriented. It is possible to use horizontal link by putting a single dash (or dot) like this: <uml t=“component_005”> [Component] –> Interface1 [Component] → Interface2 </uml> You can also change directions by reversing the link: <uml t=“component_006”> Interface1 ←- [Component] Interface2 ← [Component] </uml> It is also possible to change arrow direction by adding left, right, up or down keywords inside the arrow: <uml t=“component_007”> [Component] -left→ left [Component] -right→ right [Component] -up→ up [Component] -down→ down </uml> You can shorten the arrow by using only the first character of the direction (for example, -d- instead of -down-) or the two first characters (-do-). Please note that you should not abuse this functionality : Graphviz gives usually good results without tweaking.

The title keywords is used to put a title. You can use title and end title keywords for a longer title, as in sequence diagrams. <uml t=“component_008”> title Very simple component\ndiagram

interface “Data Access” as DA

DA - [First Component] [First Component] ..> HTTP : use

</uml>

The skinparam componentStyle uml2 command is used to switch to UML2 notation. <uml t=“component_009”> skinparam componentStyle uml2

interface “Data Access” as DA

DA - [First Component] [First Component] ..> HTTP : use

</uml>

You can use the skinparam command to change colors and fonts for the drawing. You can use this command :

• In the diagram definition, like any other commands,
• In an included_file,
• In a configuration file, provided in the command_line or the ANT_task.

You can define specific color and fonts for stereotyped components and interfaces. <uml t=“component_010”>

skinparam component {

FontSize 13
InterfaceBackgroundColor RosyBrown
InterfaceBorderColor orange
BackgroundColor<<Apache>> Red
BorderColor<<Apache>> #FF6655
FontName Courier
BorderColor black
BackgroundColor gold
ArrowFontName Impact
ArrowColor #FF6655
ArrowFontColor #777777

}

() “Data Access” as DA

DA - [First Component] [First Component] ..> () HTTP : use HTTP - [Web Server] « Apache »

</uml>

<uml t=“component_011”> [AA] «static lib» [BB] «shared lib» [CC] «static lib»

node node1 node node2 «shared node» database Production

skinparam component {

  backgroundColor<<static lib>> DarkKhaki
  backgroundColor<<shared lib>> Green

}

skinparam node {

borderColor Green
backgroundColor Yellow
backgroundColor<<shared node>> Magenta

} skinparam databaseBackgroundColor Aqua

</uml>