Episode 67: Roundtable on MDSD and PLE

Visualization

Visualizing code structures is a crucial tool for bridging the gap between developers and executives. Axel Uhl highlights how developers can continue coding while generating diagrams at the push of a button, satisfying executives' demands for visual representations without the need for cumbersome UML tools 1. Ruediger Schilling adds that this approach is akin to "alibi modeling," where developers can produce visual models from existing code, making it easier to communicate complex structures 1. This method is not about reverse engineering but rather about providing a visual aid to understand and present code structures 2.

Together problem that you mentioned that addressed two pain points at once, and they did it in an appropriate way, killing those two pains.

--- Axel Uhl

Tom Stahl emphasizes that this visualization is about understanding existing structures, not creating new ones from scratch 1.

   

Reverse Engineering

Reverse engineering through visualization is essential for comprehending legacy systems. Ruediger Schilling explains that the goal is not to automatically convert legacy code into UML models but to understand the functionalities and assets within these applications 3. This process involves standardizing meta models to express software structures, allowing tool vendors to exchange findings and insights 3. Juha Tolvanen notes the academic challenges in program understanding and architectural recovery, emphasizing the need for practical tools in the industry 3.

It's without any use, but it is useful to understand the applications. Useful to express what you understood in agreed models.

--- Ruediger Schilling

Schilling warns of the risk of overcomplicating models with excessive requirements, which can render them ineffective 3.