| Miscellaneous
Tools |
There are a few other tools—actually, a whole ton of tools, but here are a few—that might also be useful at times during the quarter.
Drawing diagrams
You may occasionally wish to draw diagrams, such as object models and module dependency diagrams. One fast and effective way to do this is to draw in longhand, then scan your results in order to submit them electronically. Alternately, you may wish to use a drawing program. Here are some suggestions. Many others exist; you are welcome to use any one that you feel comfortable with.
Visio is a
diagramming and drawing application for Windows. (Visio was co-founded by
UW CSE alum, Jeremy
Jaech—page down.)OmniGraffle is a diagramming and drawing application for Mac
OS X.Dia is a
cross-platform (Unix, Mac, Windows) diagramming and drawing
application.Take breaks from typing
xwrits is a
Unix/X-window program that reminds you to take typing breaks, which are
important for your health. You can put the xwrits command in your
.startup.X file. There are lots of ways to customize and use
xwrits; here is one way that strictly prevents you from typing for
a fixed period:
xwrits typetime=5 breaktime=0.50 +beep +clock +idle +mouse maxhands=5 +multiply +noiconify +lock &