w i z a r d 4 j

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Overview

Flowcharts

Xml Language

Reference

Dia

Examples

Try It

Engine

Getting Started

Tuning

JavaDoc

Mailing Lists

Download

License

Dia extension

Installation

Dia is an open source tool for creating diagrams. It has the cool feature that anyone can plug in a diagram type (with a set of symbols, each having dedicated attributes). So we created a Dia extension for wizard4j flowchart diagrams.

To install this extension on a unix/linux machine:

• Make sure you have a (recent) version of Dia installed.
• After installation there should be a .dia directory in your home directory. The extension will be stored in its subdirectories ./dia/sheets and .dia/shapes.
• Download the dia extension from the download section and store it in $HOME/.dia
• 'cd $HOME/.dia'
• 'tar xzvf wizard4j-dia-yyyymmdd.tar.gz'
• Start Dia, the diagram selector should contain an option 'wizard4j Flowchart'.

Since we lack experience, feel free to send us some guidelines on how to install this on a Windows machine.

A wizard4j flowchart can be created by using the elements of the wizard4j Dia extension. These elements have a number of 'connection points' which allow to connect the various elements (we will call these directed lines 'connections'). There are a number of drawing rules one needs to keep in mind when creating such a flowchart:

• The bottom connection point of a switch element must be connected to the top connection of 2 or more branch elements.
• A merge element must always point back to the start of the corresponding loop or switch.
• Only elements can be connected (there should not be a connection starting on another connection).
• The name attribute of an element can be set by clicking in the element and typing its name.
• Other attributes (beside the name attribute) of an element can be set by right-clicking on the element and selecting Properties (or by double-clicking the element).

Generate flowchart from dia

Once a flowchart diagram has been created with Dia and has been saved as an uncompressed .dia file, the wizard4j flowchart code can be generated from this .dia file. Since the graphical approach is less flexible than the xml approach, it is possible that the generated code contains some 'REQUIRED' and 'OPTIONAL" sections. Please check these sections and complete them before using the flowchart code.

Upload flowchart dia file:

If you obtain the error 'javax.xml.transform.TransformerException: com.sun.org.apache.xml.internal.utils.WrappedRuntimeException: Content is not allowed in prolog.', you are most probably uploading the .dia file in its compressed format. Do a 'File=>Save As' in Dia and uncheck the compress box.