This article describes our vision of the future of software development using the Novulo platform. It discusses techniques for faster generation of working software from an application model.
The Novulo development platform can generate a complete system from an application model. To do this, the entire model is parsed, and each of the elements in the design is transformed into the correct block of code. This process is repeated in every code generation step. At present, this operation works well and is very reliable, but we at Novulo see room for improvement. By keeping track of new changes to the application compared to the last time the application was generated, we need not generate the entire code base again, but can simply rewrite the generated code to reflect the corresponding changes to the model. This will reduce model transformation time to further speed up the development process!
Novulo development is already a lot faster than other forms of development. So why focus on improving something that is already working fine? Because it unlocks the door to interesting new techniques! Demonstrating a design choice in Novulo is easy: make the changes to the application model, transform the model, and test. But with incremental model transformations, the transform step can be even faster, allowing the developer to change the model, and then immediately review the change in the working application. This results in no more delays, the ability to gather feedback quicker, and the power to create an even better business stakeholder interaction. It’s what Novulo is all about.