Since the changes to graphs with the release of Understand 6.1, similar graphs have been grouped together for a cleaner and more user-friendly interface. 


For example, when you open a Calls graph for a function, you may see a list of variant graphs like the following. You can easily switch between the graph variants:


Choose a variant to view that graph. The variants available depend on the entity and graph category you selected, but these are some common variants:

  • Simplified: This is the default variant. (See page 117 to change this.) For functions, it presents a simple view of the call, call by, or butterfly call tree. For objects or types, it presents a simple view of its members. You can right-click on the graph to control a number of display options. See page 240 for details about these options.
  • Classic: This is the legacy graphical view. It is similar to the Simplified view, but the right-click options are different. See page 240 for details about these options.
  • With Global Objects (Classic): This is similar to the legacy graphical view, but includes global objects.
  • Relationship: This variant shows relationships between any two entities. You will be asked to click on another entity whose relationship to the selected entity you want to find. You can click on the second entity anywhere in the Understand interface. The name of the entity you select appears in the “Select a second entity” dialog. This example shows the call relationship from the pipe() function to crc32().


  • Dependencies: This variant contains nodes drawn as 3D boxes (like those in this figure) that can be expanded to show the nodes they contain by double-clicking on them. You can keep expanding nodes until you get to the entity level.


  • Cluster: This variant provides a view of relationships that is clustered by classes or files. These graphs can be expanded or collapsed by double-clicking on a box in the graph. Cluster graphs can be accessed from the function, class, file, or architecture level.


  • Compare: This variant shows how changes to a project affect the call structure, data structure, control flow, or UML Sequence. To view these graphs, you need to point to a previous version of the same project.


  • UML Sequence Diagram: This variant shows interactions between entities arranged by time sequence. This graph is available for functions and methods that call member methods. This graph is also supported for Ada. Search the support website for “UML” to find sample UML Sequence diagrams and information about how events are displayed.


  • Custom: If you have installed plugin graphs, these are available by choosing the Custom variant.