Model-driven architecture (MDA) is the next big evolutionary step in programming, now that software has standards for application definition such as the Unified Modeling Language and application architectures such as .Net and J2EE. Over the past decades, programming had advanced incrementally as software was ported from platform to platform; MDA would make that laborious and unproductive task unnecessary, allowing programmers to focus on more important aspects, such as business logic. Several vendors are already touting tools that will allow companies to model applications and use code generating tools, including Borland and IBM's Rational unit. This type of capability will force better designed applications, since irresponsible development groups will not have an excuse for not finishing specifications and designs upfront. Smaller vendors such as Quovadx and Select Business Solutions in the United Kingdom already tout MDA solutions that promise to automate the majority of code production. In the future, MDA can expect stiff resistance from some sectors who will correctly point out the need for expert programmers to create high-throughput code; but if automatic code generation tools can fill in the majority of application code with tolerable performance, then MDA will certainly benefit companies. In addition, MDA promises to incorporate functions many programmers are unfamiliar with, such as standardized event logging for autonomic computing. The big picture view is that application vendors will be responsible for specifying functional components while customers will use MDA to put those components together with