FTPOnline.com: Whitehorse Rides to Modeling's Rescue

FTPOnline.com: Whitehorse Rides to Modeling's Rescue "The biggest problems occur once the code described by the model is created. You must reflect the changes you make in the code back into the model, so they remain in sync. This is critical because if you ever want to overhaul or make changes to the application, it would be ideal to do so from the model level, not the code level. This means the model needs to be in sync with the code level, or you're going to be creating a great deal of extra work for your programming teams. However, the effort required to keep the application and model in sync can quickly spiral out of control, to the point where it's not worth the effort.
Few companies even try. FTP's own research indicates that fewer than 5 percent of developers take advantage of modeling tools. Industry analysts cite a similar number, leading to an inescapable conclusion: The promise of modeling tools is not being fulfilled. It takes too much effort to use them, and they are too complex for everyday developers to take the time to learn their intricacies and their idiosyncrasies.
Microsoft aims to change this in the next version of Visual Studio .NET, code-named Whidbey. Whidbey will ship with Whitehorse, which includes three separate modeling tools intended to simplify modeling in general and create service-oriented applications in particular. The three modeling tools are a class designer, a distributed service designer, and a logical data center designer."