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I'm in the process of writing php based code as an exercise in OOP (its a WP Plugin, but I don't believe that the question is WP specific, so posted here).

I've got loads of ideas and stuff floating around my head much quicker than I can type them into working code. So I'm wondering if there's a standard method for scribbling them on a sheet of paper that will represent dependencies, links, etc? Or even if anyone has any ideas that work for themselves?

Jamie
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    Maybe search some on UML diagrams. [Marin Fowler](http://martinfowler.com/distributedComputing/standard.html) has published some on the subject and there should be plenty on the internet too. – ficuscr Jun 01 '15 at 22:06
  • Ok, thanks. Not something I've heard of before. I'll have a look. – Jamie Jun 01 '15 at 22:12
  • Take a look at [Mind maps](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map) – Luís Cruz Jun 01 '15 at 22:25

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I'll elaborate and write this as an answer. Unified Modeling Language (UML) is probably the most used specification for visualizing system architectures. It was intended to be used specifically to describe object oriented systems. There is a consortium that maintains versioned standards.

UML is not the same thing as Entity-Relationship Models. Something else you might want to look at. Sometimes you'll see a mix of the two, some UML with maybe more 'crows feet' style notations to depict cardinality.

I consider Martin Fowler an authority on these matters and recommend his writings. "UML Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Standard Object Modeling Language (3rd Edition)".

Another book on the subject I can recommend is "Advanced Object-Oriented Analysis and Design using UML", by James J. Odell.

There should be many tutorials on the web too.

A great free tool for modeling is Dia. Visio of course supports UML and ERs and many others. More can be found here: http://martinfowler.com/bliki/UmlSketchingTools.html

ficuscr
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