EaDiagramGenerator - a tool for exporting diagrams from Sparx Enterprise Architect
This prototype software can be used to extract the UML models from the
Sparx Enterprise Architect UML diagramming tool via it's Java
API (eaapi.jar
). We developed the software as part of an enterprise architecture documentation project where we
wanted to combine written documentation in a Confluence wiki with
architecture models in Enterprise Architect. Via the EaDiagramGenerator software we were able to:
- Extract diagrams for inclusion in Confluence wiki pages
- Give the diagrams fixed, and logical file names based on their name in the UML model
- Embed the UML models in wiki-pages in an effective manner; when model diagrams where updated in Enterprise Architect we would use the a command line script to automatically update the diagrams in the wiki pages.
A lightning talk about this work was given at the JavaZone conference in 2009. The slides from the talk are found here: Agile documentation with Confluence and Sparx Enterprise Architect. Take a look at the slides for more details about how we used used EaDiagramGenerator to integrate Confluence and Enterprise Architect.
We are not planning to maintain or do more development on this code, but anyone who finds the code useful is welcome to do whatever they want with it.
How to build and run EaDiagramGenerator for generating diagrams
Prerequisites
- JDK 1.6 & Maven 2 installed
- Sparx Enterprise Architect installed. Note: Sparx Enterprise Architect only runs on Windows.
Installation
-
Install the Enterprise Architect API jar file, which can be found in the
Java API
directory in the EA installation. The standard location for this is:C:\Program Files\Sparx Systems\EA\Java API
. Do the following:$ cd <the directory where the **eaapi.jar** is located> $ mvn install:install-file -DgroupId=org.sparx -DartifactId=eaapi -Dversion=1.0.0 -Dpackaging=jar -Dfile=eaapi.jar
-
Copy the SSJavaCOM.dll (located in the same directory as eaapi.jar) to the windows\system32 directory
-
cd back to the directory with the EAtools project, and compile the :
$ mvn clean install
-
Build the diagramgen.jar file:
$ mvn package -Dmaven.test.skip=true -DmainClass=no.eatools.diagramgen.EaDiagramGenerator -DjarFileName=diagramgen
Usage
Create a properties file with details about the EA repo and UML model that you want to generate diagrams for. An
example file is provided (ea.application.properties
). Update the property file with your data, and run the diagram
generator as follows:
$ java -jar diagramgen.jar <properties file>
Links to resources
-- Ove Scheel and Per Spilling (per@kodemaker.no), nov-des 2008 ******************************************************************************* * DISCLAIMER: * * The code is written as part of a Proof of Concept. This implies that the code * may not be up to production quality standards with regards to: * - structure * - naming * - documentation * - test coverage * - robustness * - etc. *******************************************************************************