Creating a Data Model First
April 21, 2010Personally, whenever I start on a new project, I like to create the data model first. Basically, a data model can be the hardest thing to change later, so before any development work is done, this should be taken care of.
Of course, along the way, more changes and additions are going to happen to this data model, just like any area in software development. However, a data model is the most likely to remain consistent because when created properly, in mirrors and abstracts real-world objects, and the closer that model and abstraction are to the real-world object, the fewer changes need to be made.
For example, when working on an MVC platform, the first thing I like to do is create all of the models that I’m going to use (or at least have thought of using for this iteration of the project). Of course, which methods you’re going to need to add to those models are mostly undetermined, but having the models themselves ready to be used within the application immediately gives the developer a better understanding of the real-world objects he is going to be working with.
Data is the foundation of most applications and software, so working on the first, like in construction, only means you have to do less work later.
