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Bug 337091

Summary:	Very useful missing feature is UML based hierarchy diagrams like IntelliJ IDEA
Product:	[Eclipse Project] JDT	Reporter:	Timothy Mowlem <tmowlem>
Component:	UI	Assignee:	JDT-UI-Inbox <jdt-ui-inbox>
Status:	RESOLVED WONTFIX	QA Contact:
Severity:	enhancement
Priority:	P3	CC:	daniel_megert
Version:	3.7
Target Milestone:	---
Hardware:	All
OS:	All
Whiteboard:

Description Timothy Mowlem

2011-02-14 04:02:57 EST

Build Identifier: 3.7M5

When trying to visualize complex class/interface hierarchies a very useful feature in IntelliJ IDEA is the ability to view the class hierarchy as a UML diagram.

It would be really useful to have this feature available in Eclipse OUT OF THE BOX without having to investigate whether some plugin provides this feature and how to install and configure it.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1.N/A
2.
3.

Comment 1 Dani Megert

2011-02-14 04:06:42 EST

The SDK and especially JDT doesn't want to depend on drawing bundles like EMF and GEF. We could re-invent that but that doesn't make too much sense given there are plug-ins available out there that are explicitly targeting that problem.

Comment 2 Timothy Mowlem

2011-02-15 17:28:25 EST

(In reply to comment #1)
> The SDK and especially JDT doesn't want to depend on drawing bundles like EMF
> and GEF. We could re-invent that but that doesn't make too much sense given
> there are plug-ins available out there that are explicitly targeting that
> problem.

Pity you aren't concentrating on the user rather than the software as an end in itself. After all the whole point of Eclipse's existence is for people to use it to build software. Bottom line is IntelliJ IDEA has an excellent feature that shows the class hierarchy of a class in a UML diagram.

The point is not that it is UML or it uses this or that framework, the point is that when working with a complex class structure this feature is invaluable and looking at the classes presented in a list or other non-graphical view just isn't good enough.

This feature is so useful that I don't want to (and should not have to) fiddle around hunting down plugins that I may be able to install, it should just be provided out of the box. I have never found a good free viewer for Eclipse. IDEA's version is quite polished and looks nice. Most free Eclipse plugins are simplistic and look poor.

I am not suggesting some modelling package, just a built-in implementation of a visual class viewer. Don't need generation or all that stuff, that I agree would belong in a plugin.

Tim Mowlem

Comment 3 Dani Megert

2011-02-16 05:29:44 EST

Timothy, there are tons of useful and good add-ons - not just UML diagrams. While you think this is needed (or to be more precise: you do need it) others will never use that and hence don't want that it makes the SDK bigger. Similar to others that want to use aspects or CDT or... Note that also CVS is only in the SDK for historical reasons and other users that e.g. use Suberversion or Git have to install an additional bundle. If we would add everything to the SDK that someone considers useful, then to box would just explode.