This GitHub repository is a collection of tooling to help you visualise, document and explore the software architecture of a software system. In summary, it allows you to create a software architecture model based upon Simon Brown's C4 model using Java code, and then export that model to be visualised using tools such as:
- Structurizr: a web-based software as a service and on-premises product to render software architecture diagrams and supplementary Markdown/AsciiDoc documentation.
- PlantUML: a tool to create UML diagrams using a simple textual domain specific language.
- Graphviz: a tool to render directed graphs using the DOT format.
As an example, the following Java code can be used to create a software architecture model that describes a user using a software system.
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
Workspace workspace = new Workspace("Getting Started", "This is a model of my software system.");
Model model = workspace.getModel();
Person user = model.addPerson("User", "A user of my software system.");
SoftwareSystem softwareSystem = model.addSoftwareSystem("Software System", "My software system.");
user.uses(softwareSystem, "Uses");
ViewSet views = workspace.getViews();
SystemContextView contextView = views.createSystemContextView(softwareSystem, "SystemContext", "An example of a System Context diagram.");
contextView.addAllSoftwareSystems();
contextView.addAllPeople();
}
If using Structurizr, the end-result, after adding some styling and positioning the diagram elements, is a system context diagram like this:
You can see the live workspace at https://structurizr.com/share/25441.
- Introduction
- Getting started
- About Structurizr and how it compares to other tooling
- Basic concepts (workspaces, models, views and documentation)
- C4 model
- Binaries
- API Client
- Usage patterns
- Diagrams
- Documentation
- Extracting software architecture information from code
- Exporting and visualising with other tools
- Other
- Related projects
- cat-boot-structurizr: A way to apply dependency management to help modularise Structurizr code.
- java-quickstart: A simple starting point for using Structurizr for Java
- structurizr-groovy: An initial version of a Groovy wrapper around Structurizr for Java.
- structurizr-dotnet: Structurizr for .NET