17.2 Going back to the modeling tool

Going back to the modeling tool

You're probably thinking, "Why does this book have another chapter? We've already implemented our application. What more can we do?" Well, there's a good reason why I sat down to write yet another chapter. Software development isn't over when you're done with the implementation. Most likely, you'll have to do another version or implement new features or changes. Even if that is not the case, you will definitely have to maintain your application. And on top of that, keep in mind that you might have to do ongoing modeling while working on the implementation.

All of these reasons will take you back to the modeling tool, either to add missing parts or to update the model with changes that occurred during implementation, so you have up-to-date documentation and a solid basis for the next version's development cycle.

Differences between the implementation and the model are the most likely reason for going back to the model and updating it. These changes and variations are caused by various factors, such as implementation details, greater levels of detail in the final implementation and (of course) because things sometimes don't work out as planned.

Microsoft provides a wizard to help you make these changes and update your Rational Rose or Visual Modeler object model. Called the "Reverse Engineering Wizard," it's one of the Modeling Wizards that you can download from the Microsoft Visual FoxPro Web site. Installation instructions are described in the previous chapter.