Understanding the architecture and code in software application plays as major factors while building good software products. Having an easy to understand visual notation, not only helps architects to model the system efficiently, but also helps developers to quickly implement that, as well as it helps the re-engineering process to easily adopt the architectural model with respect to new requirement.

A new visual modeling technique, termed as “nAML” (.NET Application Modeling Language) is being introduced which overcomes the limitation of typical modeling languages by providing revolutionary way within a single space to describe an application system with its structural and behavioral, as well as physical and logical components. It illustrates real world samples, from user interface experience, .NET specific language (such as C#) classes to database level SQL commands, to let software architects and developers to have a clean model for the future system. One of it’s the most powerful objectives of this new visual language is the besides an easy way to model the system, the target model will require near to zero knowledge on notation semantics from reader aspect.

Primary Objectives

The primary objectives of nAML can be considered as follows:

• Provides a single space to visually describe one or more application systems with structural and behavioral components.

• Provides a single space to visually describe one or more application systems with logical and physical components.

• Provides a single space to visually describe one or more application systems from top to low level.

• Provides a single space to visually describe a part or whole of one or more application systems.

• Extremely simple and easy understand and learn from readers and designers perspective.

• Concentrates on .NET applications, with its related logical and physical entities (user interface, application logic, business logic, database etc).

Links and Downloads

Here is the nAML project site: http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/nAML
Download the latest specification, examples and Visio 2003 Stencil for nAML tutorial from here.
Download Visio 2003 Stencil for nAML from here.