TABLET UML NEWS August 2003

Where I've Been, and Where I'll Be (August Edition); Bad News First; Beta 2 is Shipping; Other News; Beta List; Forward This Message

This is a newsletter for Tablet UML, the UML® Tool You Don't Have to Learn! Tablet UML is a Tablet PC® application that allows you to build UML models in a natural fashion: by drawing with a Tablet PC.

• Where I've Been, and Where I'll Be (August Edition)
• Bad News First
• Beta 1 Has Shipped
• Progress On Beta 2
• Other News
• Beta List
• Forward This Message

WHERE I'VE BEEN, AND WHERE I'LL BE (AUGUST EDITION)

Greetings, and welcome to the third issue of TABLET UML NEWS!

As with last month, I've been busy earning money to pay bills, including:

• Contract work for a new client.
• Writing labs and teaching for Richard Hale Shaw's .NET Bootcamp (http://www.RichardHaleShawGroup.com). This month, it was slides on .NET assembly loading and on .config giles.
• Working on new material for a new Tablet PC Programming Workshop from the Richard Hale Shaw Group (http://www.RichardHaleShawGroup.com).
• Other promotional and analysis work for the Richard Hale Shaw Group.
• Work on my upcoming book, UML Applied (http://www.MartinLShoemaker.com/UMLApplied).

I also dubbed July "The Month All the Real Speakers Went on Vacation", since I spoke at five different events in two weeks.

• July 10: Presentation to the .NET User Group -- Omaha, Nebraska. My first topic, "Applying Architecture and Design Patterns in C#" was well-received and ran long; so I never got time for "Theory and Application of .NET Attributes". But I did find time for some truly excellent Persian food at Ahmad's Persian Cuisine. http://www.funwith.net/
• July 15: Presentation to the West Michigan .NET User Group -- Grand Rapids, Michigan. Topic: "UML Applied for .NET". http://groups.msn.com/WestMichiganNET
• July 16: Presentation to the Great Lakes Area .NET User Group (GANG) -- Southfield, Michigan. Topic: "Ink, Gestures, Speech, and Mobility: Tablet PC Programming for .NET". This was a test of my tap-dancing ability: Microsoft forgot we were meeting, and everyone in the Southfield office was gone. Everyone. Dark, locked office. But through the gracious assent of Kerby's Koney Island next door, we held the meeting there. Much good food was enjoyed; and though I had to show off the Tablet PC without a projector, I think it went pretty well. http://www.GreatLakesNETUsers.org
• July 17: Presentation to the Oklahoma .Net Users Group -- Edmond, Oklahoma. Topic: "Ink, Gestures, Speech, and Mobility: Tablet PC Programming for .NET". (No URL available.) This was the same topic as in Southfield, with two differences: we had our venue; and the audience was mostly non-programmers, so I concentrated more on what than on how.
• July 19: Interview on The Internet Adviser on WJR, 760 AM, Detroit. Topic: "Ink, Gestures, Speech, and Mobility: The Tablet PC". For five minutes, the hosts and I discussed the capabilities of the Tablet PC, and I got to espouse my Smart Cocktail Napkin theory.

(Two of these presentations -- Nebraska and Oklahoma -- are arranged through the International .NET Association, or INETA. This organization promotes .NET development by providing speakers and pizza for user groups, all at no cost to the user groups. If you would like to have an INETA speaker for your .NET-related user group, visit http://www.INETA.org.)

And that leads to WHERE I'LL BE. This month is lighter than last month, with only two trips on the schedule:

• August 25: Rational Users Conference -- Orlando, Florida. Topic: ".NET is an Elephant: An Introduction to the .NET Framework".
• August 26-28: Three-day UML BootCamp -- Ann Arbor, Michigan.

So if you're in Michigan or Florida, stop by and see me. Get a chance to see Tablet UML in action, including a sneak peak at Beta 3. See some of my other Tablet PC tools, many of which are test beds for the tools that end up in Tablet UML.

So I've been busy; but progress on Tablet UML continues, just as a slower pace than I expected.

Bad News First

In keeping with the tradition I established in issue 1, I'll try to lead with any bad news: delays, setbacks, etc. I won't paint a gloom-and-doom picture, but I won't hand you rose-colored glasses, either. The good news will follow.

So here's the Bad News First for August:

• Printing is improved, but still has some rough spots.
• There's no support yet for undo.
• There are still a few text input fields that aren't ink-enabled yet.
• There's only rudimentary support for the following UML diagram types: sequence and collaboration. Right now, these are just sketch diagrams, with no recognition features.
• The help files are much improved, but could go into more depth. (Not that you'll need a lot of help. Remember: Tablet UML is the UML tool you don't have to learn!)

And then there's our dose of reality (again): Tablet UML is only at version 0.8. There are some features you would find useful -- heck, some I would find useful -- that won't make the cut for version 1.0. Some won't even make 2.0, and some won't ever make the cut.

Beta 2 Is Shipping

Now that the bad news is out of the way, we can move onto the good news. And the biggest good news is: BETA 2 IS SHIPPING. I'm posting it to http://www.DeveloperAssociation.com this weekend, and sending login IDs and passwords to all of my beta testers. Beta 2 includes:

• The largest improvement in Beta 2 is under the hood: a redesign from Big Ink to Little Ink, as I described in my Tablet UML blog (http://myst-technology.com/mysmartchannels/public/blog/8303). I explained the technical issues in great depth there; but you'll see the results in lots of new features.
• You can now reuse elements of the model in multiple diagrams. Simply drag an item from the model tree and drop it on a new diagram.
• Selecting, moving, resizing, and otherwise editing diagram elements are all implemented.
• Manual recognition (i.e., you select an arbitrary set of ink strokes and tell Tablet UML that these are a new stereotype of an existing UML element type) is partially supported. You can't define new stereotypes; but you can convert the strokes to the standard stereotype.
• Deleting from the model is now fully supported, and much simpler.
• You can draw attributes and operations on classes. You can also use the detail pages to add attributes and operations to classe, actors, and interfaces.
• Printing is much improved.
• Most text input fields are now ink-enabled.
• You can now bend and rearrange connector lines and arrows.
• Scrolling and zooming are now supported within diagrams.
• Dashed dependency arrows and other dashed lines are supported, and mostly automatically.
• There's improved support for the following UML diagram types: activity, package, and state.
• Activity diagrams now support swimlanes.

And then there's the big course change. Last issue, I discussed the difference between natural and cleaned-up diagrams, and explained how I preferred natural diagrams for Tablet UML. Well, lots of pre-beta feedback from testers and from colleagues convinced me that my thinking and the user expectations were not aligned; and as Joel Spolsky (http://www.joelonsoftware.com) explains in his book on user interface design, when there's a misalignment between what you and the users think, it's usually easier and preferable to adjust your thinking. Insisting that you're right and the world is wrong may be satisfying, but it doesn't sell products. So I made diagram clean-up a high priority, and it's now in place. AND it's the default mode. You can still disable clean-up if you want natural diagrams.

Other News

As mentioned above, I now have a Tablet UML blog, http://myst-technology.com/mysmartchannels/public/blog/8303. Check in there to learn the latest news on Beta 2 and Beta 3, as well as what's going on in my life and projects.

There's lots of other good news, but I need to get this TABLET UML NEWS out the door, so I can get to the pile of stuff that needs doing. To keep up with the latest Tablet UML news, join the Beta List.

Beta List

If you haven't yet joined the Beta List and you want to keep receiving TABLET UML NEWS and join the beta test program, here are the steps:

1. Visit http://www.tabletuml.com/BetaSignUp.aspx to register.
2. I'll send a welcome message (and maybe the latest issue of TABLET UML NEWS). This message is to confirm that you're really interested in Tablet UML. (I don't want to be guilty of spam.)
3. Reply to the welcome message and confirm that you're interested.
4. I'll subscribe you to TABLET UML NEWS. I'll also send you the Tablet UML Introduction white paper (which describes the vision and current status of Tablet UML) and a Beta Test Non-Disclosure Agreement.
5. Fill out the NDA, and FAX it back as described in the instructions.
6. I'll send you the latest beta version of Tablet UML, along with a beta test ID, password, and instructions for beta testers.
7. Help me! Send me feedback. Send me complaints. Send me bug reports. Send me feature requests. Send me samples of your Tablet UML models. Send me comments I can use on my Web site.
8. When Tablet UML 1.0 is released, you'll receive free a fully licensed copy in appreciation for your feedback.

If there are any questions about this process, please contact me.

Forward This Message

I'm always happy to spread the word about Tablet UML. If you know anyone who would be interested in TABLET UML NEWS, please feel free to forward this message to them.

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