A long time ago I came across tools that generate code through UML diagrams. Using such tools, you design the software using a computing tool with drag and drop features. Once you are done with the visual design, you could generate the corresponding code using clicks of a few buttons. I was wondering what is the state of the art right now.

The truth is that there is a whole bunch of tools and plugins available that integrate with famous IDEs like Netbeans and Eclipse. You simply have to drag and drop a visual design and they produce the corresponding skeleton code. The only job you are left with is to plumb the code together. Here are a few nice links.

http://plugins.netbeans.org/plugin/55435/easyuml

Here is a nice video tutorial about using easyUML.

Here is another nice UML plugin that works with earlier versions of Netbeans. It might not be very useful though.

http://plugins.netbeans.org/plugin/1801/netbeans-uml

https://blogs.oracle.com/JavaFundamentals/entry/generating_uml_from_the_netbeans

How to Draw UML Diagrams in NetBeans?

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Here is a plugin that works with Eclipse.

https://marketplace.eclipse.org/content/uml-java-generator

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In this article, I have tried to gather online resources that address some questions about design patterns that I consider fundamental. I believe that contemplating on these questions, and knowing their answers would help you become a better software engineer. These questions are as follows:

1. What are design patterns?
2. Why do we need them in software development?
3. How do we figure out that our software would benefit substantially if we apply certain design patterns to it?
4. How do we eventually apply design patterns to our software?
5. How to implement design patterns?
6. Are there any development frameworks that would automatically figure out our software’s need for certain design patterns, and would they apply them all by themselves? I am talking about IDEs in particular here.

What are design patterns?

The answer to this question is quite simple, as we are told in a myriad of textbooks and online resources. I am just going to reiterate my own understanding of the term here.

Many similar types of problems keep on re-occurring in various software designs. Sometimes such problems require similar solutions. In order to save the designer time and effort in solving such design issues, software engineers have devised a bunch of design patterns that can be applied to them.

A design pattern is simply a template that can be applied as a solution repeatedly to similar kind of problems occurring in designs of software. That’s it! And this is pretty simple.

Why do we need them in software development?

Certain problems re-occur in most of the software. By applying well-known design patterns we can make our code a lot more manageable. Design patterns allow you to design your software in a better way that is also understandable by seasoned software engineers.

A Beginner’s Guide to Design Patterns | Envato Tuts+

Ever wondered what design patterns are? In this article, I’ll explain why design patterns are important, and will provide some examples, in PHP, of when and why they should be used. What are…

How do we figure out that our software would benefit substantially if we apply certain design patterns to it?

Figuring this out would need familiarity with well-known design patterns. You can then inspect the design of your software and assay what design patterns would be suitable for which parts of the former.

How do we eventually apply design patterns to our software?

Reiterated, this would require you to develop a profound understanding of the power and purpose of well-known design patterns. You need to know what some well-known design patterns are capable of. You will also need to learn how to implement them. Once you have understood the purpose of various design patterns, coding them can be trivial. Moreover, design patterns are language independent. Eventually, you can apply them to your software.

How to implement design patterns?

As I wrote earlier, implementing design pattern is simpler. You have to understand what various well-known design patterns can accomplish for you. Once you have done that, it is a trivial matter to implement them. This series of tutorials on tutorials point is good for understanding certain design patterns and how to implement them.

Design Pattern – Overview

Design Pattern Overview – Design patterns represent the best practices used by experienced object-oriented software developers. Design patterns are solutions to general problems that software developers faced during software development. These solutions were obtained by trial and error by numerous software developers over qu

These lecture slides about design patterns are really good.

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