DECLARATIVE DESIGN-TIME EXPERIENCE PLATFORM FOR CODE GENERATION

The disclosure generally describes methods, software, and systems, including a method for using templates to generate application code. A selection of a template is received from an application development user interface. The template includes a declarative model file describing user interface aspects for declaring customization of applications in an implementation-independent, consistent way, independent of the selected template and a target computer. A metadata file includes information describing the template. Plural template files provide specific syntax suitable for code generation. The template is provided in the user interface using at least development environment plugins. Customization inputs associated with the template are received from the user interface. The customization inputs provide parameters used in the code-generation plugins. Application code is automatically generated for a target computer based on the selected template and the received customization inputs. The generated application code includes at least the code generated from the code-generation plugins.