Usage patterns

Single program

The simplest way to create a software architecture model is to write a single Java program that first creates the model elements (people, software systems, containers and components) before subsequently creating the required views and uploading the workspace to Structurizr. If you have a particularly large model, or you'd like to share common elements between models, then one approach is to modularise your program appropriately, perhaps using something like Structurizr Extensions.

Multiple programs

Another approach is to write a collection of Java programs, that are each responsible for creating a different part of the software architecture model. This is especially useful if you need to use the component finder with different classpaths. You can then write a script, or use your build script, to run these Java programs in sequence. Intermediate versions of the workspace can be saved to and loaded from disk using the WorkspaceUtils class. For example:

Program 1: Create the basic model elements (people, software systems and containers) and the relationships between them.
Program 2: Add components for container 1 (e.g. run the component finder).
Program 3: Add components for container 2 (e.g. run the component finder with a different classpath).
Program 4: Create views.
Program 5: Add styling.
Program 6: Upload to Structurizr.

In this example, the first program would write the initial version of the workspace to a local file on disk, which subsequent programs then load and add to, before writing the workspace back to disk.

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