guide.) Consequently, Together Java's search capabilities are limited. Unless you know which document your search target is in, you have to hunt through them all using your browser's Find command.
The visual-design portion of Together Java makes available four different kinds of visual diagrams: class, use-case, sequence, and state. Each diagram models a particular aspect of the system. The class diagram lets you model class structures as well as relationships between classes in the system. With the use-case diagram, you capture and illustrate the various ways in which an external agent (i.e., a user) can use the system. The sequence diagram (sometimes referred to as a messag
e sequence chart) portrays the interactions between objects as the system carries out a particular operation. Finally, the state diagram is a BLTZFG
state chart
, which lets you model the behavior of the system.
As wonderful as Together Java's design-level modeling tools are, what really makes them shine is their close coupling with the implementation. That's a fancy way of saying that modifications you make to the visual models are reflected in the associated source code, and vice versa. Add a new operation to a class in the class diagram, and Together Java automatically writes an empty method into the associated source code file. Alter the name of a method in the source code file, and the altered name reflects upward, back into the visual model (the system alters the name in the class diagram).
When you create or open a project, Together Java launches a four-paned window. The upper left pane is the navigation pane, which allows you to browse through the different packages and fi
les that make up a project. The upper right pane is the content pane, which is where Together Java draws the current diagram (which you choose by selecting the appropriate file from the navigation pane). The inspector pane, in the lower left-hand corner, provides a table-style view of the properties and attributes of whatever object is selected in the content pane. (For example, the properties of a method would be its returned data type, input arguments, visibility, and so on.) Finally, you can view and edit source code in the text pane, in the project's lower right-hand corner.
Object International is working hard at keeping Together Java in line with standards. First, its diagramming notation is based on the Unified Modeling Language (UML) standard. In addition, the package has the ability to generate documentation; it does so by producing standard HTML files. Finally, although I tested Together Java as a stand-alone package, you can configure it to operate as an add-in for Borland's JBuilder. This prov
ides a single station for designing, coding, compiling, debugging, and documenting your Java application.
Object International (919-772-9350; fax 919-772-9389) recommends at least a 100-MHz Pentium CPU, Windows 95 or NT 4.0, and at least 48 MB of RAM for running Together Java. In addition, the installation guide suggests that you have 15 to 18 MB of available hard disk space. The commercial edition of Together Java is available for $2400. A so-called whiteboard edition (which lacks capabilities such as printing, HTML documentation generation, and some of the diagrams) is available free for the downloading from Object International's Web site, which is located at
http://www.oi.com
.
Java and UML Come Together
