Why I think that Model Driven Development Sucks
Coding vs. modeling
We at msc mobile are using different mobile frameworks for the development of mobile solutions and we are doing Web DynPro development - regular Web DynPro for Java and Mobile Web DynPro for Java. Why? Because it is the SAP standard technology for web interfaces.
Of course there are good reasons why we use Web DynPro - every UI has a common look and feel; the development goes fast and easy. But still - I think that the development with Web DynPro and other Model Driven Frameworks sucks! I think it sucks big time!
Why do I think that? Because it is limiting you in your possibilities and your creativity! With a Model Driven Framework you can only create applications and things that are supported by the framework. If I look at Web DynPro, there are only a number of controls available - you can't create your own. If instead we would use simple html, css and JavaScript, we would be way more flexible and much more creative.
Imagine Leonardo da Vinci would have used Microsoft Paint to draw Mona Lisa - we would have been so limited in his possibilities, I think he could never have come up with such a beautiful painting. It's the same with Model Driven Development and tools like Web DynPro.
I think something like the use of the Web DynPro tools in SAP NetWeaver Mobile's OCA (Occasionally Connected Architecture) is great: You create the UI like you know it from Web DynPro, but then, when you are limited by its possibilities, you create a custom control - here you can do whatever you want by coding SWT. But then, on the other side: Why not use SWT to create the whole application in the first place?
I think Sybase went the right way with their SUP platform. It contains a modeling tool in which you can create a UI in no time - quick and easy. On the other side it allows you to create your own client application without any limits. That is what I expect from a good framework!
IMO applications that are hand-coded are always better then modeled ones.