I’m reading Miro Samek’s book on UML Statecharts for C and C++. The state diagrams look impressive and well-crafted. I’m interested to know which software or diagramming tool the author chose for these visuals. Can anyone tell me the specific application used for these statechart diagrams? I’d like to produce similar diagrams for my own project documentation and would prefer to use the same tool for consistency.
yea, for sure! he mainly sticked to visio, but i heard he also sketched some by hand. his book even gives props to visio in the acknoledgements, so that’s the go-to for the slick lines n arrows. also, if ur looking for a free tool, diagrams.net is pretty solid for statecharts!
Samek used several tools, not just Visio. I remember reading his papers where he mentioned experimenting with Rational Rose and other specialized UML tools. The diagrams in his book have that crisp, professional look you don’t get from basic drawing software. He was really picky about diagram clarity since he focused on practical implementation, not just theory. He needed precise state transition representations that could translate well to code generation. If you want that same clarity, focus on tools with solid UML state machine templates rather than worrying about the specific brand.
Miro Samek utilized Microsoft Visio for the state diagrams featured in his UML Statecharts book. The clean and professional appearance of the diagrams is a testament to Visio’s capabilities. It offers strong UML support and precise element control, resulting in a polished look. If consistency is essential for your project, Visio remains a dependable choice. Alternatively, you might explore options like Lucidchart or draw.io, which can deliver similar results with potentially less complexity.
I’ve used both editions of Samek’s book and the diagrams definitely improved between versions. Yeah, he used Visio (says so in the acknowledgments), but what’s really impressive is how consistent his formatting is - nothing like the default settings you get in most tools. The arrow styles, state box sizes, text positioning - it’s all very deliberate. I’ve tried recreating similar diagrams and honestly, the software doesn’t matter as much as having solid style rules for guard conditions, action labels, and how you route transitions. You can tell he comes from embedded systems because he keeps things clean and readable instead of going for flashy graphics. That’s the real takeaway - doesn’t matter what tool you pick.
Yeah, I remember Samek’s book credits Microsoft Visio in the acknowledgments as his main tool. But some diagrams look like he touched them up manually afterward - that’s what gives them that polished look. All the diagrams have the same style, so he probably made a solid template in Visio and used it throughout. What really makes his diagrams work isn’t just the software - it’s how he handles layout and visual hierarchy. If you want similar results, spend time building good templates upfront instead of jumping between different programs.