plantuml-ascii

# PlantUML ASCII Art Diagram Generator

## Overview

Create text-based ASCII art diagrams using PlantUML. Perfect for documentation in terminal environments, README files, emails, or any scenario where graphical diagrams aren't suitable.

## What is PlantUML ASCII Art?

PlantUML can generate diagrams as plain text (ASCII art) instead of images. This is useful for:

- Terminal-based workflows
- Git commits/PRs without image support
- Documentation that needs to be version-controlled
- Environments where graphical tools aren't available

## Installation

```bash
# macOS
brew install plantuml

# Linux (varies by distro)
sudo apt-get install plantuml  # Ubuntu/Debian
sudo yum install plantuml      # RHEL/CentOS

# Or download JAR directly
wget https://github.com/plantuml/plantuml/releases/download/v1.2024.0/plantuml-1.2024.0.jar
```

## Output Formats

| Flag    | Format        | Description                          |
| ------- | ------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| `-txt`  | ASCII         | Pure ASCII characters                |
| `-utxt` | Unicode ASCII | Enhanced with box-drawing characters |

## Basic Workflow

### 1. Create PlantUML Diagram File

```plantuml
@startuml
participant Bob
actor Alice

Bob -> Alice : hello
Alice -> Bob : Is it ok?
@enduml
```

### 2. Generate ASCII Art

```bash
# Standard ASCII output
plantuml -txt diagram.puml

# Unicode-enhanced output (better looking)
plantuml -utxt diagram.puml

# Using JAR directly
java -jar plantuml.jar -txt diagram.puml
java -jar plantuml.jar -utxt diagram.puml
```

### 3. View Output

Output is saved as `diagram.atxt` (ASCII) or `diagram.utxt` (Unicode).

## Diagram Types Supported

### Sequence Diagram

```plantuml
@startuml
actor User
participant "Web App" as App
database "Database" as DB

User -> App : Login Request
App -> DB : Validate Credentials
DB --> App : User Data
App --> User : Auth Token
@enduml
```

### Class Diagram

```plantuml
@startuml
class User {
  +id: int
  +name: string