So long and thanks for all the fish...

[sargasso]

Guys,

I am abandoning ship.  Some of the LT posters may have noticed that I'm getting less and less frequent ( apart from the occassional rave )  

EA is now getting too far away from what I need ( as a modeller ).  It is focussing more and more on being a code generator, rather than a modelling tool.  I find this rather sad.  Further I find that the basic faults in the EA UI remian to be addressed by Sparx.

Simple things that could enhance the useability are being continually ignored, release after release.  Instead, Sparx seems to be intent on "adding new non-working functionality" rather than getting the basics right. 805 contains exactly ZERO modelling improvements. I dont care about Rose, the sequence message ordering is now HARDER than it was before, and I have exactly no interest in XMI 1.1 or php.

So, fundamentally I'm voting with my pocket, feedback and feet. ( Oui, Paolo, ze product d'France )

DAOTS
bruce

p.s. If I wanted a (cough) code generator, I would have bought that god-awful Oracle product... hahaha

[Paolo F Cantoni]

You (and your rants ) will be missed...  Perhaps you could drop in from time-to-time?

All the best,
Paolo

[«Midnight»]

You (and your rants ) will be missed...  Perhaps you could drop in from time-to-time?

All the best,
Paolo

I couldn't have said it better, so I'll (have Paolo) say it again Bruce.

Do drop in from time to time though, if only to watch over the rest of us.

David

[thomaskilian]

And please don't PANIC

I mean: I should not panic

[jaimeglz]

Hope to see you back, Sargasso. Although I don't write often, I still check this forum often. Both as a modeller and project manager, I still find EA's value way above the rest.

Cheers and good health!

[jeshaw2]

I'll miss your sage advice Bruce, please do come back to visit.  Whether or not one uses EA, this forum provides a higher quality of information than what I find on other UML forums.

I share your concern about Sparks failure to address the needs of advanced modelers, a lot more support can be provided.  I think this is a strategic error for Sparks.

[mikewhit]

It might be that there's more impetus on Sparx to support code for language package fubar due to corporate purchasing decision-makers (we have all seen the posts saying, "we need support for language/feature X or we will buy Rose") - whereas the pressure from advanced modellers probably comes from existing EA customers, hence there's no financial incentive to rectify problems there.

Or I could be doing Geoffrey and his merry band a dis-service ...

But it definitely seems as if the next version of EA should address modelling concerns that have built up - maybe those with modelling concerns (inc sargasso) should formulate and refine a list on the EA wiki and then forward it to Sparx for a response.

[kimballjohnson]

Well OK then...

So I guess you've decided that Visual Paradigm is the answer? They got a nice UI, right?

Or are you moving to Visio?

Or maybe you are using the TFS Software Factory SDK to create your own UML tool?

Give us a hint, please show us a way out of this very tought place Sparks has put us in!

Really, I mean it, is there another tool that one can survive on?

Thanks,

Kimball Johnson

[KP]

805 contains exactly ZERO modelling improvements.

805 was a minor bug fix release and isn't a useful indicator of the direction EA is heading. Any UI and modelling improvements made in the last few months have been held over to EA 7.0 which is due for beta release fairly soon. I'd hope you would at least have a look at the feature list for EA 7.0 when it's released...

[Graham_Moir]

I think this thread tells you where he's going

http://www.sparxsystems.com.au/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=general;action=display;num=1174637472;start=0#0

[sargasso]

the last few months have been held over to EA 7.0

The prosecution rests

[mikewhit]

Another submission to the court:
http://www.sparxsystems.com.au/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=suggestions;action=display;num=1175004564;start=3#3

[thomaskilian]

The prosecution rests

If that were a shot across the bows, it was a good one

[Dave_Bullet]

The closer you get to code generation the more likely it is the developer will use their IDE related tools and not a general modeling tool (it means using two tools and switching between).  With the number of languages supported, Sparx would spread themselves very thin to offer all the functionality IDEs offer when it comes to code generation, language extensions etc...  You end up pushing EA on developers who don't find it as good building up product resistance.

Basic code and database engineering is very useful and should continue... but the focus should be on modeling over code support features.

I only started using EA from V6.0, but my main requirement is a modeling tool - not a code generation tool.

EA is at an interesting stage in its product growth cycle.  I suggest Sparx examine the original goals of the product - and keep true to those goals.  Otherwise they should abandon and rebrand / image the product if that market requirement no longer exists.

I can understand how fix / minor releases slow down before a major product release.  I do hope 7.0 comes out soon.  I hope it is a release full of making modeling / quicker and easier.

Cheers,
David.

[mikewhit]

Hear, hear !