CO-IP: An Object Model For OIS

Abstract

Modeling office procedures and roles of office objects are the key issues in modern Office Information Systems (OIS). The core object model consisting of objects, messages and inheritance is not adequate to tackle these complex requirements of office information systems. In this paper, we propose an extended object model, called CO-IP model, which captures these issues succinctly. In this model, the set of rules governing office procedures are modeled as constraints. Office activity is based on constraint satisfaction and constraint propagation. The constraints are captured by means of Constraint Meta-objects (COs). These constraint meta-objects can be plugged or unplugged to office objects dynamically. Different set of constraints is to be bound to an office object corresponding to its different roles. The roles are modeled as different abstractions of the office object through the concept of Interface Polymorphism (IP). The office object hence has multiple abstractions, which can be activated or deactivated by sending special messages. This model has been applied for the case of a regional airforce headquarters.