Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have grown considerably in recent years and have a significant potential in different applications including health, environment, and military. Despite their powerful capabilities, the successful development of WSN is still a challenging task. In current real-world WSN deployments, several programming approaches have been proposed, which focus on low-level system issues. In order to simplify the design of the WSN and abstract from technical low-level details, high-level approaches have been recognized and several solutions have been proposed. In particular, the model-driven engineering (MDE) approach is becoming a promising solution. In this paper, we present a survey of existing programming methodologies and model-based approaches for the development of sensor networks. We recall and classify existing related WSN development approaches. The main objective of our research is to investigate the feasibility and the application of high-level-based approaches to ease WSN design. We concentrate on a set of criteria to highlight the shortcomings of the relevant approaches. Finally, we present our future directions to cope with the limits of existing solutions.

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