Application Development Advisor - MetaEdit+ reviewed 

Reviewing Editor writes: 

I've always been interested in the idea of metaCASE - as I understand it, you describe the data structures and semantics needed for software engineering and then use a computer to generate the precise CASE (Computer-Aided Software Engineering) too you need for a particular project. This should cut through the "heavyweight/lightweight" arguments - if you don't need a facility, then don't build it into your tool. Of course, there's the overhead of making your tools, Japanese style, before you "build your house", but after a while you'll have a library of custom tools to suit your various needs.

MetaEdit+ appears to match my metaCASE vision fairly well: "the MetaEdit+ environment includes Method Workbench that an experienced developer uses to define a modelling language as a metamodel and a code generator to turn the models into code. Method Workbench guides the process and creates automatically the development tools for other developers". This, of course, is the sort of approach taken by the OMG's MDA (Model Driven Architecture), although MetaCase doesn't appear to claim MDA compliance. Nevertheless, this looks like a tool we should look at in more detail.

Version 4.0 of MetaEdit+ was released recently and provides an API connectivity tool based on the .NET/SOAP/Web Services standard API, supporting tool integration. The new version also offers improved support for component-oriented development. "Ports" allow you to specify rules for connecting components, a "component architect" defines the rules for legal component use, a "component developer" specifies component interfaces, and a "modeller" uses components through their interfaces. The product's usability and reuse features have also been improved.

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