"Visual Classworks helped me get my new job. When I showed them the project documentation automatically generated by the tool they were extremely impressed - of course I didn't tell them it only took 5 minutes to produce!"

Colin Adams, Department of Lands

Visual Classworks: as used by companies including Lucent Technologies and Canon

 

Home
About
Contacts
Visual Classworks
 Features
 Requirements
 Testimonial
 Purchasing
 Download

Download Free Trial Now

Java developers click here

Want the ability to transfer designs between C++ and Java?
Your Visual Classworks license key also works with Javelin, the Java sister product of Visual Classworks. Designs created in Visual Classworks can be copied and then opened in Javelin and visa versa.

Step Ahead
Software

 

Visual Classworks for C++

Point and Click, Visual Modeling/Coding in C++

Visual Classworks (TM) is the world's slickest, light weight, visual object oriented development tool for C++ because it raises the plane on which you perform your analysis, design, implementation and coding. Instead of drowning in an ocean of text based source files you "fly" around your code via a "live" class diagram. It takes care of the generation, maintenance and synchronization of the underlying class files as you change your classes and the relatioships between them via an uncluttered, intuitive visual design slate.

Perhaps you have not heard of this form of development or you believe it too be too "new" or radical. While this may seem radical to many developers we would like you to understand that users of Visual Classworks have been taking advantage of this approach since 1994! Most like to keep it quite, their "little secret" because using Visual Classworks usually means in any given day a single developer can perform the same amount of modeling/coding/debugging that 2-2.5 developers would achieve without the tool.

MDA - Model Driven Architecture

The latest buzz phrase at the moment seems to be 'Model Driven Architecture' and with good reason: model driven development is quickly moving out of the domain of OO purists to become more main stream due to the superior quality, efficiency of development, maintainability and enhancability of software created via this method. Model driven development enforces a layered approach to software development that provides a clear distinction between the underlying model of a system and the user interface that views and manipulates the model (this has traditionally been known as the Model/View/Controller arcitecture - MVC). One obvious benefit of this approach is that the different user interfaces eg., a Win32 GUI or Web UI can be applied to the same underlying model code.

While MDA is a nice, fancy acronym long time Visual Classworks users can't see what all the fuss it about - they've been doing it for years.

Does Visual Classworks replace my current IDE?

Visual Classworks is a companion tool for your IDE. You still use Visual C++, Visual Studio .Net, Borland C++ Builder or whatever IDE you use to create your compile and run your classes and develop user interface code (eg., MFC, .Net framework). You use Visual Classworks as your visual modeler/coding tool for developing the underlying classes that model the entities in the application that you are building. This way you're using the best tool for each part of the project.

Management of Relationships between Classes

Visual Classworks can generate the code that implements the relationships between classes using pointers or STL collections. It also also generates code that deletes objects automatically when their owner object is deleted avoiding memory leaks.

Simple mouse operations are used to create a new class, add a method or field. Modify the code of a method from within the Visual Classworks or do it from outside Visual Classworks - either way is fine because Visual Classworks keeps the sources files synchronized with the design, saving you time and effort. It also makes up to date, automatically generated documentation a reality.

How do I use Visual Classworks with other tools like Microsoft Visual C++ .Net or Microsoft Studio .Net?

New Design work/Browsing Exisiting Designs

For new design work it is far quicker to create new classes and drag and drop between classes to create inheritance and association relationships in Visual Classworks than manually type all the code that is required for this.

When browsing a set of classes its easier to visualize and quickly edit inheritance and other relationships from a Visual Classworks class diagram as opposed to, a sometimes very long, tree view of .cpp files in an IDE.

Compiling/Debugging a Design

Any code within the opening { and closing } of a method can be changed via an external editor (eg., MSVC) without effecting the synchronization of the .vcm design and the code.

Users often use a mix of editing method code in MSVC and VCW. The trick is to make sure you save your changes in MSVC before switching over to VCW. When MSVC detects a change made to a file in another app (like VCW) it automatically loads the changed file if there file is not currently open with unsaved changes in VCW.

Obviously when MSVC picks up a compiler error and takes you to the spot in the code you can just change it there if it is in within the opening { and closing } of a method. When debugging you really only ever need to go to VCW when MSVC picks up an error in an interface of a method, data member declaration or a relationships.

Often when doing new work they find it easier and quicker to bounce around related classes across a number of Visual Classworks designs where they can clearly see the relationships and data members and methods. You can tend to get a 2D map of the designs in your head. This often reaches the point where you no longer have to look at a class name to know what it is. You just remember it by its position in the design (it's the programmer's equivalent of touch typing!).

Find out more

Read more about Visual Classworks' features in the features page or download the evaluation to try it for yourself.

If you would like to be put on our mailing list for important Visual Classworks news and events etc., please mail to the above address with your e-mail address and the word VCWNEWS in the body of the message.