The concept
DBPortal is an internal tool developed by noze that adopts a rule-based generative model-driven approach to automate code production. The system analyses existing data structures and automatically generates both the database code and the corresponding web interface code.
How it works
At the heart of DBPortal is an engine for automatic recognition of data structures. Starting from a schema — tables, relationships, constraints, types — the system applies a set of transformation rules to produce:
- Database code: queries, stored procedures, migration scripts
- Web view code: display interfaces, input and edit forms, paginated lists
The approach is rule-based: each rule maps a structural pattern to a code template. By modifying the rules, the generated code changes without manual intervention on each individual view or query.
Internal use
DBPortal is created as an internal tool to accelerate the development of noze projects. Instead of manually writing the data access layer and CRUD interfaces for each new project, the team uses DBPortal to generate a functional base in reduced time, then focuses effort on project-specific business logic.
The model-driven approach anticipates concepts that will only become widespread years later in the development tools landscape, positioning noze in an area of applied research at the intersection of automation and software development.