Abstract

In this thesis I propose a new code generation approach to developing data-intensive web-based applications. I hypothesize that it is possible to build a code generator which will significantly improve development of data-intensive web-based applications by generating at least 50% of the data access code based on a specification of the application’s data model. My main argument is that the application’s data model is sufficient for deriving most of the data access functionality.

To test this hypothesis I designed a data definition language, came up with a set of rules for deriving data access operations from the application’s data model, implemented a code generator, and tested my approach on three applications. The applications used to test the hypothesis included a web-based tool used in criminology for eyewitness identification, a financial reporting system, and a set of web sites for a student association, including a blog, a career web site, several regular web sites and a content management system.

The results were two-fold. On the one hand, the approach proved to be efficient in the sense that 84% - 99% of the data access code was generated automatically – which supported the study’s hypothesis. On the other hand, only 20% - 35% of the generated code was actually used by the application. Therefore, considering the amount of generated code, the approach proved to be inefficient. Nevertheless, I maintain that the suggested approach still has the potential for bringing positive results, which may be discovered through further research.