Motivation
Although I love PlantUML, it is harder to use it on Web Browser than Marmaid.js which is built with pure JavaScript.
The following points make it hard.
- PlantUML depends on Graphviz.
- PlantUML is built with Java, and Applet has died.
These points mean that server-side environment such as PlantUML Server is required to run it. As an idea, I think WASM will solve the problems.
High-Level Goals
- Easy to embed UML diagram to your site such as Wiki without server environment.
- The diagram is not a static image file, but dinamically generated from puml text notation. It will enable you to embed something like Live Editor to your page.
- Support various diagrams supported by original PlantUML. Such as Class Diagram, Sequence, Activity and etc.
- Enable to export various image format, such as svg, png and etc.
- Enable to use as a VSCode Extension. (Current PlantUML extension requires Java and Graphviz and it makes us hard to set it up.)
High-Level Ideas
- Rewrite PlantUML in Rust with wasm-pack.
- WASM can be run on Browser-side easily.
- Rust has powerful eco system to make WASM app.
- Writing in Rust and running as wasm might be faster than JavaScript.
- Distributing as a npm package will enable frontend developers to embed the dynamic diagram generating feature to their site easily.