deps2dot

This is not strictly related to UML but this script is how all this started, plus it provides a convenient and terse syntax as compared with raw Graphviz or classes2dot.

deps2dot is designed to handle a very narrow class of graphs — dependency graphs. There are many uses for dependency graphs, e.g.:

• A set of C source and header files, with dependency representing inclusion. It is best to start studying with the header file that depends on nothing and proceed to those that depend on the files you have already studied, but with more than 7±2 files, the order becomes non-obvious. By entering the dependencies and looking at the graph, you can easily choose the optimum sequence.
• A set of tasks to be done. However, some tasks require that other tasks be completed before they can be started.
• A set of interdependent refactorings. If you do them in dependency order, each refactoring becomes a small, reviewable patch in the source control system. If you start with some arbitrary refactoring and it turns out that you need another one to make the code compile, you now have two options: to undo the changes, do that other refactoring first and then try to repeat this one; or to plough right through and plop both refactorings together in one patch. If you’re unlucky, that other refactoring will require several more unrelated changes.

Syntax

The syntax accepted by deps2dot is very simple:

Dependent:
    Dependency_1
    Dependency_2
    :
    Dependency_N

This states that Dependent depends on each Dependency_i. Conversely, dependents can be grouped too:

Dependent_1:
Dependent_2:
:
Dependent_N:
    Dependency

This states that each Dependent_i depends on Dependency. Also, both groupings can be used at the same time:

Dependent_1:
Dependent_2:
    Dependency_1
    Dependency_2

Such syntax states that for each pair (i, j), Dependent_i depends on Dependency_j.

Each dependent must begin in the first position of the line and must end with a colon and newline, and each dependency must be indented from the beginning of line with one or more space or tab.