The Class Diagram

Class diagrams are used to show the inheritance relationships between classes in your project. They are also a good way to document the method and field members of each class.

To create a class diagram

1. On the Diagrams menu, click New Class Diagram.

To add a class to the diagram

1. Add classes to your diagram using the Class Tree or the Auto Select Bar.

2. LumiCode will automatically layout your diagram anytime something is added to it.

To display methods and fields

1. Click on a class to select it.

2. Click on the items your want to display on the method and field tabs.

You can also use the Access Selection Bar to rapidly select methods and fields based on their access levels

To remove a class from the diagram

1. Click on the class you wish to remove to select it.

2. Press the Delete key to remove the selected class from the diagram.

3. Classes can also be toggled off and on the diagram with the Class Tree.

To show class details

1. Check the Show Details checkbox to display details for all the classes on the diagram.

To add a caption or comment to your diagram

Position the mouse over your diagram and then click the right mouse button. Select Caption or Comment. Enter your text into the Comment Editor and then click OK.

To adjust the layout of your diagram

When your diagram contains all the classes you wish to display, you can fine tune the appearance by dragging the classes on the diagram with the right mouse button. The horizontal bar can also be positioned by dragging.

If you spend time tweaking your diagram, and then add something, your tweaking will be lost! That’s the dark side of automatic layout. For this reason, you should get everything you need on the diagram before you begin tweaking.

Class access symbols

Methods and fields in a class have access levels to indicate their visibility to other classes. These access levels are indicated in LumiCode (as in UML) as follows: