Power in Understanding – ModelCVS’s REAL power

I recently returned from a visit to Vienna to meet the people behind ModelCVS – the video speaks for itself (see below:) – I met Mustafa Arikan, Xiaoxia Lin, Michael Woldrich and Mu Han.

A number of things became clear to me during the visit (which I will expound on in this and the next few posts), but one thing stands out from all the others  – the people in the ARIKAN Productivity Group are some of the nicest, friendliest, most generous people I have met since I began this blog, and I must offer publicly my thanks and gratitude for a fantastic tour around Vienna and their offices and finally their software which I was lucky enough to see. They are also passionate about what they do.

OK – so what DO they DO ?

(Without giving too much away about the “trade-secrets” that they have)

ModelCVS is a multi-component toolset – but here I will focus on the PL/1 to Gen transformation elements.

They have understood that the power of transformation lies not with computing power per se, but KNOWLEDGE about what you are transforming FROM.

They have constructed a modular framework – currently focussing on PL/1 – they have a parser which is able to syntax-check the source language and deduce its’ semantics. Then they can take the output of that and place it into a format which can be forward-engineered towards a target – initially – Gen (since the outcome is a Gen model, from which code can be generated and deployed),

So the difference here is that their tools understand the semantics, or “meaning” of the source system – THAT is the power of their toolset.

It’s odd that sometimes you know “what” something does by reading about it or someone tells you – BUT when you ACTUALLY SEE IT – you think “….yes – YES!!!! – THAT’s incredible !!!”. I had that sort of moment with the APG guys – actually seeing the tools work and realising the power in front of me…..

I have rambled on about some facets of this tool here by way of an introduction, but will focus on more detailed parts in future posts – keep reading and following the “APG Series”…..

Download the Flash Video (downloaded times).