how to make an editable diagram file like visio UML file

I'm implementing a small custom UML class drawer tool in VC#. i use tableLayoutPanle and a class being inherited from UserContol. I add all class attributes and relationships specifications in this class. my tool thoroughly show UML class and relationship. Here my teacher want to make it an editable file. i mean save these specification as a file, re-open it later and make some editing specification and adding new attribute or . Here i get a problem that i don't know how to make this editable file.

some advise me - save these class specification in any access file or SQL server and reuse them. but i don't like this. I want to make a file like any other UML diagram file, Visio or Rational Rose. User can choose any file that he wants to modify. However, i don't know how to implement ...

pls help me. I will demonstrate this to my teacher on this coming Monday.

Thanks

Hi,

Did you think about XML format to save and load data to your project? Read about XML serialization. You can use this method to store properies of your object in file.

www.madartsoft.com C# controls, Help Desk Software

saving in SQL Server is very bad idea and saving in Access is not very good.
i suggest save your data in XML-Like file that can be easily readen and updated.
more logically you don't have a series of database like rows that you want to save them in access. your data structure is more tree-like
also it is flexible and is a well known format and there are built-in libraries in .Net and also a lot of third party add-ins (open-source or comercial) for working with XML files.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by toraj58

there are built-in libraries in .Net and also a lot of third party add-ins (open-source or comercial) for working with XML files.

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pls tell me more or give me a link about libraries in .NET or any third party. I'd like to test them. thanks Toraj58 and All.

You can find them in the System.Xml namespace.

some of the classes that i have used in my projects are:

XmlDocument
XmlNode
XmlElement

and each of them with bunch of usefull method for working with XML.