MDD: How dynamic is MDD at runtime?

Question

Over the years, I've investigated a lot of ways to use code generators and MDD. I've always felt that something is lacking: Patching and changes to the model at runtime.

Patching: If you have a code generator, all your classes should look the same. Now you have a single exception. All code generators so far would require that I modify the template or the template engine to make this work.

Wouldn't it be better if I could apply patches to the result of the code generation step to fix the exceptions?

Answer 1

Well, it depends on how you build your model. If fact, it depends on what code generator you are using, its approach, and what it lets you do.

Creating an exception to a rule (model) is more or less against the nature of MDD, unless the applied modeling approach allows you to add exceptions as modeling entities.

I think ABSE is the only modeling approach that accepts "custom code" as a first-class entity, just like a text or an integer. If you create a template that contains a "CustomCode" parameter, you can later add your exception code only when necessary, without breaking your model rules. This can be used to add or replace code. You just need to specify it in your template.

AtomWeaver is a free implementation of the ABSE modeling methodology.