Review By: Vivek Vaishampayan
09/24/2007

This book introduces the theoretical framework for model-driven software development (MDSD) and its basic concepts and terminology. In principle, model-driven architecture (MDA) has a similar approach but the details differ. This book mainly shows how MDSD is better in today’s agile software development process. The authors present a very broad perspective of MDSD covering a wide range of approaches that go beyond MDA, including software product line, domain-specific languages, software factories, and aspect-oriented and generative programming.

This book advocates that MDSD is about using domain-specific languages to create models that express application structure or behavior in an efficient and domain-specific way. It shows how these models can be subsequently transformed into executable code using a sequence of model transformations.

It provides excellent hands-on, practical help for specific MDSD-related issues, such as code generation, versioning, testing, choosing tools, and meta-modeling with UML and MOF (Meta Object Facility). Organizational, process-related, and economic issues also are addressed. A number of case studies from various domains supplement the more detailed parts of MDSD.

MDSD is a heavyweight development process. However, it will provide solid benefits to all—including but not limited to software architects, developers, managers, and project leaders—in creating entire product lines and software systems. This book provides a great relief for those who are challenged with the task of implementing another heavyweight process.

This book reports on best practices that lend themselves to being used in agile processes and for the construction of customized development processes. I strongly recommend this book to all those who are looking to adopt a practical process in their software development and who believe that models aren't a tool to generate good-looking documentation, but rather are equal to code, as their implementation is automated.