Re: Model-driven architecture outside of the enterprise?
From: Patrick Moloney (patrickmoloney_at_compuserve.com)
Date: 12/31/03
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Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2003 12:36:36 -0500
Richard,
First, thanks for starting this thread, it's much needed.
I've read a long list of excellent replies before posting this, but have
these things to add.
I had hoped, a couple of years ago, to find good modelling tools for my
then-new application business for less than thousands of dollars and
designed for dozens of users. I never did.
I looked at Bold and Modelmaker. I hoped Borland would enhance Bold when
they got it. But they never did. And whatever they did with it was directed
at the "Enterprise". My enterprise is much smaller.
I too, create primarily database applications. I have grown to know and
love Interbase :>)
I keep checking for tools but continue to find the following problems, some
listed by others.
1. Understanding what a tool promises to do for you before investing heavily
in it is almost impossible. I don't have the luxury of buying a copy and
putting an employee on the project for a while - jobs I've even had in
corporations before.
2. The demonstrations of many tools show self-contained programs (EXEs) that
don't have the complexity of data, let alone database.
3. The tools that do offer database access seem to read from a single table
- the database doesn't actually do anything. That doesn't match my
philosophy either.
My applications, in my view, are written primarily in Interbase, and my
objective is to minimize the Delphi client as much as possible. I make
extensive use of database constraints, triggers, stored procedures etc. And
frankly, although I am completely unfamiliar with ECO except as described in
this thread, I doubt that this Borland tool can maintain and update a
Borland Interbase database.
I use an assortment of third-party applications to try to assist the
development with Borland tools because the tools offered never seem relevant
outside of the enterprise. MDA is only one of the problems.
Patrick Moloney
Sandrock Software
Richard Grossman wrote:
> I've been watching the advent of model-driven architecture.
>
> My big reservation is that I do small projects, either for small
> businesses or single departments of large enterprises.
>
> Although I may do a lot of work for one client during the course of a
> year, it's still an accumulation of small projects.
>
> So what I am looking for is upfront efficiences that result in
> cost-reductions. The clients don't want to pay for long-range benefits.
>
> My clients often say they don't have time to look at a model or
> prototype or plan, and if they do, they do not discover errors at the
> conceptual stage anyway.
>
> It's all about bang-give them what they asked for cheap, then
> bang-change it when they need more or realize they asked for the wrong
> thing.
>
> There are a few exceptions, and for these clients, I give them what will
> actually produce the highest ROI for their businesses: sometimes talking
> them into less than what they think they wanted and sometimes more.
> These are the smart managers and business-owners, who focus on ROI on
> the project including revenue-increases, staff-productivity and
> software-maintenance, and not just software-development costs.
>
> For the rest, it's mostly about competing on price. The fact that the
> competition are flakes who won't be around next year to fix the problems
> they created does not enter into the decision-making process, because
> everyone is free to make the same claims of reliability and track-record
> that I make whether their claims are true or not.
>
> When MDA advances to the point of a 4GL where I define the app and the
> app pops out, then there will be a productivity gain for me.
>
> So, to the point: where does model-driven architecture fit into the
> scenario described?
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