dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaMeta-Data Objects as the Basis for System Evolution
| Authors | Florida Estrella, Richard McClatchey, Norbert Toth, Zsolt Kovacs, Jean-Marie Le Goff |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0107073 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0107073 |
| Journal | Lecture Notes in Computer Science Vol 2118, pp 390-399 ISBN 3-540-42298-6 Springer-Verlag, 2001 |
Abstract
One of the main factors driving object-oriented software development in the Web- age is the need for systems to evolve as user requirements change. A crucial factor in the creation of adaptable systems dealing with changing requirements is the suitability of the underlying technology in allowing the evolution of the system. A reflective system utilizes an open architecture where implicit system aspects are reified to become explicit first-class (meta-data) objects. These implicit system aspects are often fundamental structures which are inaccessible and immutable, and their reification as meta-data objects can serve as the basis for changes and extensions to the system, making it self- describing. To address the evolvability issue, this paper proposes a reflective architecture based on two orthogonal abstractions - model abstraction and information abstraction. In this architecture the modeling abstractions allow for the separation of the description meta-data from the system aspects they represent so that they can be managed and versioned independently, asynchronously and explicitly. A practical example of this philosophy, the CRISTAL project, is used to demonstrate the use of meta-data objects to handle system evolution.
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"abstract": "One of the main factors driving object-oriented software development in the\nWeb- age is the need for systems to evolve as user requirements change. A\ncrucial factor in the creation of adaptable systems dealing with changing\nrequirements is the suitability of the underlying technology in allowing the\nevolution of the system. A reflective system utilizes an open architecture\nwhere implicit system aspects are reified to become explicit first-class\n(meta-data) objects. These implicit system aspects are often fundamental\nstructures which are inaccessible and immutable, and their reification as\nmeta-data objects can serve as the basis for changes and extensions to the\nsystem, making it self- describing. To address the evolvability issue, this\npaper proposes a reflective architecture based on two orthogonal abstractions -\nmodel abstraction and information abstraction. In this architecture the\nmodeling abstractions allow for the separation of the description meta-data\nfrom the system aspects they represent so that they can be managed and\nversioned independently, asynchronously and explicitly. A practical example of\nthis philosophy, the CRISTAL project, is used to demonstrate the use of\nmeta-data objects to handle system evolution.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0107073",
"authors": [
"Florida Estrella",
"Richard McClatchey",
"Norbert Toth",
"Zsolt Kovacs",
"Jean-Marie Le Goff"
],
"categories": [
"physics.ins-det",
"physics.comp-ph"
],
"journal_ref": "Lecture Notes in Computer Science Vol 2118, pp 390-399 ISBN\n 3-540-42298-6 Springer-Verlag, 2001",
"title": "Meta-Data Objects as the Basis for System Evolution",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0107073"
},
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