StarUML

StarUML has several things going on in its favor: it is offered for the great price of free, it is quite easy to use, it comes with a nice list of features, there are more modules and platforms available for download, and there are several large-scale case studies that showcase that StarUML is a useful platform. The simple truth of the matter is that if you want a UML platform that can prove to be quite useful, you should give StarUML a try.

The installation file is about 22MB in size. After you download and run this file, you will be presented with a simple setup wizard; this wizard will guide you through all the steps you need to take in order to install StarUML on your Windows powered machine. If you ever installed an application before, you should have absolutely no problems installing this one.

When you’re done with the installation, you will be asked to launch the application. Do so and the first thing you’ll see is a New Project by Approach prompt that features the following tabs: Approaches (4+1 View Model, Default Approach, Rational Approach, UML Components Approach, Empty Project), Open Files (a dual pane view to find and open files), and Recent Files (presents the files you recently opened).

Get through the aforementioned prompt and you will be presented with the application’s interface – which, as expected, presents the project you’re working on front and center and buttons and shortcuts to edit and work on that project. Speaking about that, you need to know that there are a few sample projects you could load and play with.

To better understand what you can expect to get from StarUML, here’s a quick look at its main features: diagrams, templates, support for multiple programming languages, customizable code generation, Microsoft Office document generation, extensibility, editing, pattern support, and more. As mentioned above, StarUML is a free and open source application – so access to all the functionality offered by this UML platform will not cost you a thing.

Powerful functionality wrapped in a user friendly interface and offered for free – that’s what StarUML offers to Windows users.