can anyone assist me in directing me at links and resources where i can find UML ACTIVITY diagrams of moodle to understand data and information flow
I don't think such a thing exists.
Do *real* developers actually use UML?
No..no.. don't hit me
Do *real* developers actually use UML?
No..no.. don't hit me
Well, UML is just one way to represent how software works, but there are many other ways. The problem with UML diagrams is that they are separate from the code, and so are no necessarily updated when the code is updated. Therefore, if you really want to understand what the Moodle code is doing, your best bet is to read the code.
The problem with reading the code is that there is a lot of Moodle code, and you have to know where to start, and it can be hard to see the big picture, especially at first. However, http://docs.moodle.org/dev/Finding_your_way_into_the_Moodle_code has some tips.
The developer documentation can help you understand the big picture: http://docs.moodle.org/dev/Main_Page, but there are not many UML diagrams there, because the authors of the documentation preferred other ways to explain what is going on (but there are a few http://docs.moodle.org/dev/Overview_of_the_Moodle_question_engine#Key_processes).
One overview of how Moodle works is http://www.aosabook.org/en/moodle.html (no UML, I am afraid).
To answer Howard, there are occasions when diagrams are the best way to summarise some aspect of how software works, and UML is a reasonable convention for drawing diagrams. UML diagrams tend to be easy to understand, even if you don't know or care about the technicalities. In fact, UML is best used to try to create approximate summary sketches of they key points, rather than trying to show every detail on a diagram.
To be perfectly honest.. I'm too old. I never learned it back in the day and have never got beyond squiggly diagrams on white boards. Does the job for me and one less thing to forget.
I don't think anybody would be offended if I suggested that Moodle never was a text-book example of database design but is, perhaps, a good example of a pragmatic solution to a real problem.
I don't think anybody would be offended if I suggested that Moodle never was a text-book example of database design but is, perhaps, a good example of a pragmatic solution to a real problem.
Hi aditya,
I think of UML as more for strict typed languages like Java and Actionscript. There are several UML development tools that generate UML from code and code from UML but I haven't heard of one for PHP before.
I sometimes use StarUML with an Actionscript plugin for larger, more complex, less well-defined projects that are subject to frequent change but most of the time good old fashioned pencil and scraps of paper seem to do the job.
I hope this helps!