UML

Much of the design work that we do in CS411 is modeled in UML. One of the better tools that I’ve found for UML work (outside the expensive Rational suite from IBM) is StarUML, produced by MKLab. It’s pretty robust and can do just about every diagram that you might need. It’s extensible, too, if that’s your thing. They offer an academic license for $49, but they also offer a non-expiring trial license (as of this moment…might change in the future). Well worth the download.