Modeling Web Applications
History of Modeling Tools
Modeling is a visual process used for constructing and documenting the design and structure of an application. It is a good idea to make at least some outline of an application, showing interdependencies and relationships between the components and subsystems, during development. Modeling tools facilitate this process; as one change is made in the model, the ripple effect of that change is shown. Use of modeling tools gives developers a high-level view of what could amount to thousands of individual lines of code. Modeling can be introduced at any point in an existing project, as most modeling tools will read existing code, creating a visual model based on that code.
The standard language used by most modeling tools on the market is called the Unified Modeling Language (UML). This language was developed to unify the many proprietary and incompatible modeling languages, creating one modeling specification.
Use of modeling tools for Java development projects is increasing. With the increasing complexity of enterprise Java applications and components, modeling will become a necessity, reducing development time while ensuring that a program is well written the first time around.
Overview
Throughout the history of designing computer applications, some things have changed drastically while others have remained the same. To illustrate, the tools and methodologies for development have changed (that is, they are refined and plentiful), but the problem (or opportunity, depending on your viewpoint) is the same (that is, we need to design smart but not necessarily clever business systems to provide accurate and timely information).