An Overview Of Model-Driven Web Engineering and the Mda

1. INTRODUCTION Model-Driven Software Development (MDSD) is becoming a widely accepted approach for developing complex distributed applications. MDSD advocates the use of models as the key artifacts in all phases of development, from system specification and analysis, to design and implementation. Each model usually addresses one concern, independently from the rest of the issues involved in the construction of the system. Thus, the basic functionality of the system can be separated from its final implementation; the business logic can be separated from the underlying platform technology, etc. The transformations between models enable the automated implementation of a system from the different models defined for it. Web Engineering is a specific domain in which MDSD can be successfully applied. Most of the technology is here to implement systems that exploit the Web paradigm, but the effective design of Web applications is still a concern: the complexity and requirements on Web applications are constantly growing, while the supporting technologies and platforms rapidly evolve. Existing model-driven Web engineering (MDWE) approaches already provide excellent methodologies and tools for the design and development of most kinds of Web applications. They address different concerns using