Generation of UML package diagrams based on an attribute graph grammar

•In order to analyze the syntax of program diagrams, the relationships between each of the elements must also be described.•Graph grammars provide a formal method that enables rigorous definition of mechanisms for generating and analyzing graphs.•We propose a framework for specifying UML package diagrams using a graph grammar, and a syntax-directed editor.•We also propose methods of calculating coordinates and generating SVG files based on attribute evaluation.

Graphical representations are often used in software design and development because of their expressiveness. So far, various graphical program description languages have been reported. The Unified Modeling Language (UML), developed for modeling in software development was proposed recently, and in 2005 was standardized as the ISO/IEC 19501 standard.Some tools for drawing UML diagrams have been proposed in recent years. However, it is hard for developers to draw UML diagrams using the UML tool because diagram layouts generally should be manually adjusted. Of course, there are tools that can automatically provide layout diagrams, though, sometimes such functions provide unexpected layouts.In order to automate the drawing of these graphical representations aesthetically, a syntax for program diagrams must first be defined. We propose a framework for specifying these diagrams using a graph grammar, and a syntax-directed editor based on the graph grammar.