Get started modeling in ‘M’

Well, if you went to PDC and did the thing I always do, which is go to every talk that lists Don Box as a speaker, then you probably heard about SQ!L Modeling.  I don’t care about the SQL part – SQL is a database as far as I am concerned – it is an implementation detail.  As a software architect, though, I am very interested in Modeling.

So I get the bits and install them.  Great.  I have Quadrant as a Start Menu item, but Quadrant is Access.  Not interested (for this anyway).  I want to tell Visual Studio how I need my software built.  I need M.

The New Project Dialog has a Oslo Library that might be interesting.  I thought they had nixed Oslo though?  What’s up with that?  Anyway, the description says “A project for creating Oslo Flavored CSharp Library” whatever that means.  I just want to design software, people.  I don’t make ice cream.

I’ll go ahead and model SHARP, my event system, because I know that system well and have been modeling it for years.  To start, I name the Oslo Library SharpLibrary.  The resultant code is unusual, but it is a new language after all.

module SharpLibrary
{
    type Model
    {
        Id : Integer32 => AutoNumber();
        
        Field : Integer32;
        
    }
    
    Modelsamples : {Model*} where identity Id;
    
}

Don’t let the ‘module’ statement fool you – this isn’t a RAD application development language that will remain nameless.  M is a language that will model your middle tier.  Let’s model.  The goal is to build the simple SHARP model, which I used in VB for Dummies and the C# All In One.

I will start with the Conference entity, because it is sorta the middle of the system.  ID is as the example, but I want to add a Title and Description.  First thing is that M needs intellisense.  What’s a string again? String?  Varchar?  Oh, no of course it is Text.  Of course.

More later!