I’m reading through Miro Samek’s book about UML Statecharts in C/C++ and I really like how clean and professional his state machine diagrams look. The formatting and layout of the charts are really well done and easy to follow.
Does anyone know what drawing software or diagramming tool he used to make these statecharts? I want to create similar looking diagrams for my own project documentation. The diagrams have that polished look that suggests they were made with proper software rather than just basic drawing tools.
I’ve tried searching online but couldn’t find any information about his specific toolchain for creating the book’s illustrations. Any insights would be helpful.
yea, for sure! i remember reading somewhere that he prefers visio for those diagrams. the clean lines and overall layout totally fit what you see in visio’s templates. it’s a go-to for a lot of authors back in the day looking for solid diagramming options.
Actually worked with Samek’s QP framework extensively a few years back and had similar questions about his diagram quality. From what I gathered through various technical forums and his own blog posts, he was quite methodical about his toolchain. He mentioned using Enterprise Architect for the more complex hierarchical state machines because of its superior handling of nested states and orthogonal regions. The reason his diagrams look so polished is that he spent considerable time on the layout and used consistent styling templates. He also did post-processing work to ensure the diagrams met publishing standards for the book. If you’re looking to replicate that style, I’d recommend focusing less on the specific tool and more on establishing consistent formatting rules for your state elements, transitions, and text placement.
I believe Samek actually used a combination of tools for those diagrams. From what I recall reading in some of his technical papers and presentations, he mentioned using specialized UML modeling software rather than just general drawing programs. The precision and consistency of the state transition arrows and the way the hierarchical states are nested suggests he was working with something that had built-in UML support. Tools like Rational Rose or IBM Rhapsody were popular among embedded systems engineers during that time period for creating statechart diagrams. The professional typography and alignment you’re noticing is definitely characteristic of dedicated modeling tools rather than simple drawing software.