jGRASP is an open source, free, multiplatform and easy-to-use graphical software designed to be used as an integrated development environment (IDE) for all GNU/Linux and UNIX-like operating systems. It is developed by the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering from the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering in the Auburn University.
Features at a glance
The application has been designed in such a way that it can automatically generate software visualizations, which can improve the comprehensibility of software. It is a very lightweight development environment primarily targeted at Java developers.
It produces CPG (Complexity Profile Graph) for Ada and Java, CSD (Control Structure Diagram) for C, C++, Java, Objective-C, VHDL and Ada, UML class diagrams for Java, as well as has dynamic object viewers for Java, which can work in parallel with an integrated workbench and debugger.
A data structure identifier mechanism has been included in the viewers, which will automatically recognize objects that represent standard data structures, such as queues, stacks, linked lists, hash tables, and binary trees.
Easy to use and straightforward GUI
Its graphical user interface is quite uncomplicated, easy-to-use and straightforward. On the left side you will notice a multi functional sidebar that that gives you quick access to your local code, allows you to debug the code, find and replace text in code, as well as to access the workbench.
On the right side of the window you can view the main work area, where you will be able to write code, as well as a small, tabbed and interactive box that allows you to run I/O, view jGRASP messages, view interactions, and view compile messages.
Under the hood, supported OSes and availability
The software is written entirely in the Java programming language, which means that it is supported on all operating systems where the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) is available, including Linux, BSD, Solaris, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X.
For your convenience, the application is distributed as pre-built binary packages in the EXE and DMG files formats for Windows and Macintosh OSes, as well as a universal package for Linux and other UNIX-like systems, which includes both pre-built binaries and the software’s source code.
