1.4 MDA Building Blocks

Now what do we need to implement the MDA process? The following are the building blocks of the MDA framework:

• High-level models, written in a standard, well-defined language, that are consistent, precise, and contain enough information on the system.

• One or more standard, well-defined languages to write high-level models.

• Definitions of how a PIM is transformed to a specific PSM that can be automatically executed. Some of these definitions will be "home-made," that is, made by the project that works according to the MDA process itself. Preferably, transformation definitions would be in the public domain, perhaps even standardized, and tunable to the individual needs of its users.

• A language in which to write these definitions. This language must be interpreted by the transformation tools, therefore it must be a formal language.

• Tools that implement the execution of the transformation definitions. Preferably these tools offer the users the flexibility to tune the transformation step to their specific needs.

• Tools that implement the execution of the transformation of a PSM to code.

At the time of writing, many of the above building blocks are still under development. Chapter 3 provides an overview of where we stand today.

In the following chapters each of the building blocks is further examined and we show how it fits into the overall MDA framework.