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Editors Note: I wrote this article originally for The Code Project. Since it is such a useful program, I am posting it here as well. Although the examples shown pertain to a VisualBasic.net application, it is also a good solution for PHP programmers. The software uses code templates to generate otherwise redundant code. For example, if you are rewriting an application and need to write a data access layer, you will find this software very useful. DBInspector can reverse engineer MySQL, Postgresql, and Microsoft SQL Server databases. You can then create templates for generating Smarty templates, PHP pages, module code, and database access classes. I have used this software on large scale commercial projects from PHP to Java and VB.NET.

Making the case for code generation

As any programmer of even modest abilities can attest, writing code to implement a system can be a redundant and laborious task. Often we wonder, why must we type essentially the same exact code over and over again, from project to project. We wonder this even as we are writing the program code. We purchase expensive Integrated Development Environments which effectively are nothing more than oversized Notepads. These wonderful IDEs allow us to develop and test our code, maybe even design it visually, but seldom do they actually make our jobs easier. In order to make my job easier, a tool basically has to do my job for me, at my command.

This is the premise of Code Generation tools. To take an 80/20 approach to producing programs. Unfamiliar with the 80/20 rule?

Pareto’s Principle - The 80-20 Rule

In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country, observing that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth. In the late 1940s, Dr. Joseph M. Juran inaccurately attributed the 80/20 Rule to Pareto, calling it Pareto’s Principle. While it may be misnamed, Pareto’s Principle or Pareto’s Law as it is sometimes called, can be a very effective tool to help you manage effectively.

Where It Came From

After Pareto made his observation and created his formula, many others observed similar phenomena in their own areas of expertise. Quality Management pioneer, Dr. Joseph Juran, working in the US in the 1930s and 40s recognized a universal principle he called the “vital few and trivial many” and reduced it to writing. In an early work, a lack of precision on Juran’s part made it appear that he was applying Pareto’s observations about economics to a broader body of work. The name Pareto’s Principle stuck, probably because it sounded better than Juran’s Principle.

As a result, Dr. Juran’s observation of the “vital few and trivial many”, the principle that 20 percent of something always are responsible for 80 percent of the results, became known as Pareto’s Principle or the 80/20 Rule. You can read his own description of the events in the Juran Institute article titled Juran’s Non-Pareto Principle.

What It Means

The 80/20 Rule means that in anything a few (20 percent) are vital and many(80 percent) are trivial. In Pareto’s case it meant 20 percent of the people owned 80 percent of the wealth. In Juran’s initial work he identified 20 percent of the defects causing 80 percent of the problems. Project Managers know that 20 percent of the work (the first 10 percent and the last 10 percent) consume 80 percent of your time and resources. You can apply the 80/20 Rule to almost anything, from the science of management to the physical world.
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