README

SEQUENCE is a simple program for sketching uml sequence diagrams and
saving them as png images. Diagrams are entered and edited as a text
representation and automatically laid out by the program. It is
released under the LGPL, see the file COPYING for details.

To run SEQUENCE just type

java -jar sequence.jar

The example option under the help menu will load an example sequence
diagram. The text representation looks like

(anObject aMethod aReturn
  (anotherObject anotherMethod)
  (thirdObject thirdMethod anotherReturn))

where the general pattern is

CALL -> ( calledObjectName calledMethodName returnType? CALL* )

The calledObjecName, calledMethodName and optional returnType can
include spaces if surrounded by single or double quotes. To include a 
double quote in a double quoted string or a single quote in a single
quoted string you can escape it with a \.

To compile the program you'll need to have junit, log4j, and the java
swing look and feel icons available. You also need to modify runant.sh
and build.xml. In runant.sh you need to change the paths so that they
point to the locations where you have ant and java installed. In
build.xml the three paths with id "junit.jar", "log4j.jar" and
"jlfgr.jar" need to be changed to point to the correct locations. I
normally create a lib directory and symbolically link the jar files
there.

You can modify the colors (colours) and whether or not the return
types are shown on the diagram using the preferences option on the
edit menu. These preferences are saved between sessions if you specify
a preferences file when you start the program. So

java -Dzanthan.prefs=MyPrefs.properties -jar sequence.jar

will save your preference changes to the MyPrefs.properties file.

Any suggestions for improvement  gratefully received at
alexmoffat@yahoo.com.