Gentleware的Poseidon for UML建模工具起源于开源UML建模工具：ArgoUML0.9。现在的Gentleware公司的CEO就是ArgoUML的项目拥有者之一：Marko Boger。你可以在ArgoUML的主页上看到。
从下面这封信中，我感到了起源于开源软件的商业软件的强大活力（他也提供共享版本，不过功能很受限，可以作为学习之用）；反之，看他的开源前辈ArgoUML，可以说是鲜有使用者，也许在我不了解其中具体情况下下一个不成熟的结论：半死不活。
这是为什么？难道ArgoUML终究不能成为一个像其他开源工具如：ant、eclispe、Tomcat、Linux等一样的流行工具？难道说ArgoUML的存在就是因为有了它的商业分支版本"Poseidon for UML"? 难道ArgoUML就是”认知建模“的一个试验品（它的认知建模好像是可以智能的分析模型的合理程度，还可以根据知识库纠正一些问题或提出建议）？在我用来，它的认知建模好像没有多大用处（起源于它的Poseidon for UML就去掉了这个特性）。搞不懂，不过对我这个UML的学习者来说，用ArgoUML来画画图，理理思路还是够用了。
从下面这封订阅来自Poseidon for UML的信中可以大概知道：
1、它要发集成在eclipse中的Apollo for Eclipse建模插件了；
2、对于发行采用基于Web Service模型的新许可形式了，购买、延续、改变许可将更加自动化；
3、Apollo for Eclipse和 Poseidon for UML同时存在，定位不同，且都有供学习用的共享版本。
下面是这封电子邮件的原文，可以以此来看软件业的趋势、开源软件的命运和运作，以及这些给普通软件用户带来的影响。
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A Letter to You: From Gentleware's CEO
Dear Loyal Poseidon User,
With this letter, I'd like to inform you about a series of major events and changes that will be occurring in the next few months. Please bear with me; I am certain that you will find this message to be worthwhile reading. You are part of the cherished user base that Gentleware has built up over the past 6 years. As such, you are one of the first to be informed.
We are proud and honored to have such a large and loyal audience, and we have been working extremely hard to fulfill your expectations. Our user community has grown so much that the range of users now extends beyond the scope of our previous tool lineup, and the range of expectations has correspondingly grown. Many users, especially those working in the later development phases who want to review and modify models and code simultaneously, expressed the need for a tight integration into Eclipse. Poseidon for UML is built on Swing while Eclipse is built in SWT, so an integration can only go so far. For a clean integration we had to start from scratch. And so we did.
Apollo for Eclipse
We are pleased to present our newest tool, Apollo for Eclipse, which will be released in the coming weeks.
Built from the ground up as an extension to Eclipse, Apollo for Eclipse makes use of all of the relevant modules from the Eclipse Modeling Project. Most notably, it uses EMF (Eclipse Modeling Framework) and its instantiation for UML, the UML2 project, as a repository. This provides a standard API and saving format and makes it easy to connect other tools like generators or transformation engines to it.
It is our understanding that this is the first professional modeling tool built using GMF. GMF is a framework to create graphical editors in Eclipse and was released just this summer. We regard it as the best technology available to build modeling tools. It provides a standardized yet adaptable user interface that is well adapted to Eclipse, and it provides us with great flexibility to quickly create editors for standard or domain specific notations.
With the initial release of Apollo for Eclipse, we have focused specifically on the class diagram and a clean, robust, and scalable roundtrip mechanism for Java 5 and UML 2.1. More details will be forthcoming in the next newsletter.
Poseidon for UML
This isn't to say that Poseidon for UML is going away. Poseidon for UML continues to be the best option on the market for analysts and designers who don't work as extensively with Eclipse. In just a short while, we will be bringing out version 5.0 of Poseidon for UML. As with every release, it has a number of important and interesting updates. But I have to say that this release is really special to me. I feel that after 6 years of development we have now reached what we initially started our quest for: namely, to provide the most usable UML modeling tool available. We will provide you with the specific details of the release in a separate newsletter.
New Licensing Based on the Web Service Model
The software industry is fast paced and changes quickly. With the ubiquity of the internet and with flexible download and update mechanisms provided by the Eclipse platform, software products today have much of the character of a web service. In response, we have adapted our pricing model to reflect this. We have worked hard to find a model that suits the wide variety of our users, from students with minimal budgets, to occasional users with high demands, and on to large corporations with long-term usage scenarios.
We are introducing a rental and subscription model for our new product, which may be familiar to you from other Internet services. Base functionality of the tool is available for free; extended functionality including all exporting capabilities requires a license.
This rental and subscription license model will apply to the Apollo for Eclipse product. Likewise, we will implement it for the Poseidon for UML Community Edition starting with the release of version 5.0. This solution eliminates the conflicts many users have had with our current license terms, which restricts how the Community Edition may be used through the stated condition, "free for non-commercial use".
The Community Edition was originally intended to be a learning tool for those just starting out in UML. It has become an important tool for analysts and designers who depend on Poseidon for UML to communicate with various stakeholders throughout the development lifecycle. The new licensing agreement now allows these users to take advantage of the many powerful features of Poseidon for UML for the nominal charge of only 5 Euros per month.
The unregistered version of the Poseidon for UML Community Edition can still be used for learning UML; all of the features needed to work alongside a textbook or tutorial remain available. Users can open and edit models to explore code and diagrams, but all export features such as saving, copying to the Windows clipboard, and printing are only available in the registered version.
Options
The first option is to rent a license for a fixed period of time; specifically, for a month, a quarter, or a year. The fee for one month is 5 EUR or 6 USD, longer periods are further discounted. You always maintain the option, but are not obligated, to renew the license after it expires.
The alternative option is to subscribe to the service and thus be assured of continuous access to the most current version. Updates and registration are automatically conducted as soon as you are online. You can decide on the automatically-renewing payment periods that best suit your needs, again with the choices of a month, a quarter, or a year. You can cancel the subscription easily and transparently at any time.
Students in accredited programs have the additional option to purchase the full Professional Edition at a deep discount, and site licensing for universities remains as an economical alternative. Current Community Edition users will be able to continue to operate under the old license agreement until the beginning of 2007.
Your Opportunity to Try Apollo for Eclipse
Poseidon for UML and Apollo for Eclipse address two very different types of usages. Whereas Poseidon for UML provides the full power of UML 2 during analysis and design phase, Apollo for Eclipse addresses the needs of developers and programmers. We realise that many of you indeed have both use cases, but at different times. To accomodate our users, soon we will be sending out keys for Apollo for Eclipse to premium edition Poseidon for UML customers for a limited introductory period, so that you can have full access and can immediately evaluate our new offering.
So stay tuned, there are a lot of compelling developments coming in the next few weeks. We hope that you are as excited as we are.
Best regards,
your Marko Boger
CEO, Gentleware AG
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