Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Context-Oriented Software Development with Generalized Layer Activation Mechanism

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Transactions on Modularity and Composition I

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((TRMC,volume 9800))

Abstract

Linguistic constructs such as if statements, dynamic dispatches, dynamic deployments, and layers in context-oriented programming (COP) are used to implement context-dependent behavior. Use of such constructs significantly affects the modularity of the obtained implementation. While there are a number of cases where COP improves modularity related to variations of context-dependent behavior and controls of dynamic behavior changes, it is unclear when COP should be used in general.

This paper presents a study of our software development methodology, context-oriented software engineering (COSE), which is a use-case-driven software development methodology that guides us to specification of context-dependent requirements and design. We develop a systematic method to determine an appropriate linguistic mechanism to implement context-dependent behavior and dynamic changes in behavior during modeling and design, leading to the mechanized mapping from requirements and design artifacts formed by COSE to the COP implementation, which is demonstrated in our COP language ServalCJ through three case studies. We then identify the key linguistic constructs that make COSE effective by examining existing COP languages.

This paper is an extended version of our previous papers [31, 33]. In this paper, we refine principles and provide a more detailed description of our methodology. It also contains a case study not included in previous work.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Some COP languages do not provide a linguistic construct to pack such implementations as a single unit. However, this is not a significant difference. In the remainder of this paper, we refer to a set of functions (methods) annotated with the same “conditions” for dispatch as a layer irrespective of whether they are packed into a single unit.

  2. 2.

    This approach is based on Jacobson’s object-oriented software engineering (OOSE) [27]. We refer to our approach as “COSE” to make its connection to OOSE clear.

  3. 3.

    https://github.com/ServalCJ/pl.

  4. 4.

    Keays also proposed COP [35], where a context is a named identifier (e.g., location) that identifies the type of open terms (holes in the code skeleton) that are filled at runtime with pieces of code corresponding to a specific context value (e.g., location in “Tokyo”). This paper is based on Hirschfeld’s COP [26] where a context is represented as a layer that dynamically takes two states, i.e., active and inactive, and thus can be represented as a Boolean variable.

  5. 5.

    By “specialization,” we mean a specialization relationship that appears in class and use case hierarchies, i.e., a specialization consists of more details than its parent.

  6. 6.

    http://developer.android.com/sdk/.

  7. 7.

    For COP languages that do not provide layer activation by conditionals, we must provide a workaround to implement such conditionals.

  8. 8.

    Although Table 5 shows that it is preferable to implement these layers in the class-in-layer style, in Fig. 2, they are implemented in the layer-in-class style because ServalCJ currently only supports this style.

  9. 9.

    There are also before and around partial methods that execute before the original method and instead of the original method, respectively, when the respective layer is active.

  10. 10.

    This simulator is inspired by a real maze-solving robot (Pololu 3pi Robot: http://www.pololu.com/product/975) and the behavior of the simulator is modeled by following the sample program provided by the 3pi Robot distribution.

  11. 11.

    Only Trémaux’s algorithm can solve the maze with loops.

References

  1. Abowd, G.D., Atkeson, C.G., Hong, J., Long, S., Kooper, R., Pinkerton, M.: Cyberguide: a mobile context-aware tour guide. Wireless Netw. 3(5), 421–433 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Ali, K., Lhoták, O.: Averroes: whole-program analysis without the whole program. In: Castagna, G. (ed.) ECOOP 2013. LNCS, vol. 7920, pp. 378–400. Springer, Heidelberg (2013). doi:10.1007/978-3-642-39038-8_16

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  3. Ali, R., Dalpiaz, F., Giorgini, P.: Goal-based self-contextualization. In: CAiSE 2009, pp. 37–43 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Apel, S., Kästner, C.: On overview of feature-oriented software development. J. Object Technol. 8(5), 49–84 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Apel, S., Leich, T., Rosenmüller, M., Saake, G.: Feature C++: on the symbiosis of feature-oriented and aspect-oriented programming. In: GPCE 2005, pp. 125–140 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Appeltauer, M., Hirschfeld, R., Haupt, M., Lincke, J., Perscheid, M.: A comparison of context-oriented programming languages. In: COP 2009, pp. 1–6 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Appeltauer, M., Hirschfeld, R., Haupt, M., Masuhara, H.: ContextJ: context-oriented programming with Java. Comput. Softw. 28(1), 272–292 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Appeltauer, M., Hirschfeld, R., Masuhara, H.: Improving the development of context-dependent Java application with ContextJ. In: COP 2009 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Appeltauer, M., Hirschfeld, R., Masuhara, H., Haupt, M., Kawauchi, K.: Event-specific software composition in context-oriented programming. In: Baudry, B., Wohlstadter, E. (eds.) SC 2010. LNCS, vol. 6144, pp. 50–65. Springer, Heidelberg (2010). doi:10.1007/978-3-642-14046-4_4

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  10. Aracic, I., Gasiunas, V., Mezini, M., Ostermann, K.: An overview of CaesarJ. In: Rashid, A., Aksit, M. (eds.) Transactions on Aspect-Oriented Software Development I. LNCS, vol. 3880, pp. 135–173. Springer, Heidelberg (2006). doi:10.1007/11687061_5

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  11. Bracha, G., Cook, W.: Mixin-based inheritance. In: OOPSLA 1990, pp. 303–311 (1990)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Cappiello, C., Comuzzi, M., Mussi, E., Pernici, B.: Context management for adaptive information systems. Electron. Notes Theoret. Comput. Sci. 146, 69–84 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Cardozo, N., González, S., Mens, K., Van Der Straeten, R., Vallejos, J., D’Hondt, T.: Semantics for consistent activation in context oriented systems. Inf. Softw. Technol. 58, 71–94 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Cardozo, N., De Meuter, W., Mens, K., González, S.: Features on demand. In: VaMoS 2014 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Ceri, S., Daniel, F., Facca, F.M., Matera, M.: Model driven engineering of active context-awareness. World Wide Web 10, 387–413 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Costanza, P., D’Hondt, T.: Feature description for context-oriented programming. In: DSPL 2008 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Costanza, P., Hirschfeld, R.: Language constructs for context-oriented programming - an overview of ContextL. In: Dynamic Language Symposium (DLS 2005), pp. 1–10 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Dardenne, A., van Lamsweerde, A., Fickas, S.: Goal-directed requirements acquisition. Sci. Comput. Program. 20, 3–50 (1993)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  19. Desmet, B., Vallejos, J., Costanza, P., De Meuter, W., D’Hondt, T.: Context-Oriented Domain Analysis. In: Kokinov, B., Richardson, D.C., Roth-Berghofer, T.R., Vieu, L. (eds.) CONTEXT 2007. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 4635, pp. 178–191. Springer, Heidelberg (2007). doi:10.1007/978-3-540-74255-5_14

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  20. Elliott, C., Hudak, P.: Functional reactive animation. In: ICFP 1997, pp. 263–273 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  21. González, S., Cardozo, N., Mens, K., Cádiz, A., Libbrecht, J.-C., Goffaux, J.: Subjective-C: bringing context to mobile platform programming. In: Malloy, B., Staab, S., Brand, M. (eds.) SLE 2010. LNCS, vol. 6563, pp. 246–265. Springer, Heidelberg (2011). doi:10.1007/978-3-642-19440-5_15

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  22. González, S., Mens, K., Cádiz, A.: Context-oriented programming with the ambient object systems. J. Univ. Comput. Sci. 14(20), 3307–3332 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  23. González, S., Mens, K., Colãcious, M., Cazzola, W.: Context traits: dynamic behaviour adaptation through run-time trait recomposition. In: AOSD 2013, pp. 209–220 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Henrichsen, K., Indulska, J.: A software engineering framework for context-aware pervasive computing. In: PERCOM 2004 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Hirschfeld, R., Costanza, P., Haupt, M.: An introduction to context-oriented programming with ContextS. In: Lämmel, R., Visser, J., Saraiva, J. (eds.) GTTSE 2007. LNCS, vol. 5235, pp. 396–407. Springer, Heidelberg (2008). doi:10.1007/978-3-540-88643-3_9

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  26. Hirschfeld, R., Costanza, P., Nierstrasz, O.: Context-oriented programming. J. Object Technol. 7(3), 125–151 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Jacobson, I., Christerson, M., Jonsson, P., Övergaard, G.: Object-Oriented Software Engineering: A Use Case Driven Approach. Pearson Education, New Delhi (1992)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  28. Jacobson, I., Ng, P.-W.: Aspect-Oriented Software Development with Use Cases. Pearson Education, New Delhi (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Kamina, T., Aotani, T., Masuhara, H.: EventCJ: a context-oriented programming language with declarative event-based context transition. In: AOSD 2011, pp. 253–264 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Kamina, T., Aotani, T., Masuhara, H.: Introducing composite layers in EventCJ. IPSJ Trans. Program. 6(1), 1–8 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Kamina, T., Aotani, T., Masuhara, H.: Mapping context-dependent requirements to event-based context-oriented programs for modularity. In: Workshop on Reactivity Events and Modularity (REM 2013) (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  32. Kamina, T., Aotani, T., Masuhara, H.: Generalized layer activation mechanism through contexts and subscribers. In: MODULARITY 2015, pp. 14–28 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Kamina, T., Aotani, T., Masuhara, H., Tamai, T.: Context-oriented software engineering: a modularity vision. In MODULARITY 2014, pp. 85–98 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Kang, K.C., Cohen, S.G., Hess, J.A., Novak, W.E., Spencer Peterson, A.: Feature-oriented domain analysis (FODA) feasibility study. Technical report CMU/SEI-90-TR-21, Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University (1990)

    Google Scholar 

  35. Keays, R., Rakotonirainy, A.: Context-oriented programming. In: MobiDE 2003, pp. 9–16 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  36. Kiczales, G., Hilsdale, E., Hugunin, J., Kersten, M., Palm, J., Griswold, W.G.: An overview of AspectJ. In: Knudsen, J.L. (ed.) ECOOP 2001. LNCS, vol. 2072, pp. 327–354. Springer, Heidelberg (2001). doi:10.1007/3-540-45337-7_18

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  37. Koppen, C., Störzer, M.: PCDiff: attacking the fragile pointcut problem. In: European Interactive Workshop on Aspects in Software (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  38. Lapouchnian, A., Mylopoulos, J.: Modeling domain variability in requirements engineering with contexts. In: Laender, A.H.F., Castano, S., Dayal, U., Casati, F., Oliveira, J.P.M. (eds.) ER 2009. LNCS, vol. 5829, pp. 115–130. Springer, Heidelberg (2009). doi:10.1007/978-3-642-04840-1_11

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  39. Liaskos, S., Lapouchnian, A., Yu, Y., Yu, E., Mylopoulos, J.: On goal-based variability acquisition and analysis. In: RE 2006, pp. 79–88 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  40. Liu, L., Yu, E.: Designing information systems in social context: a goal and scenario modelling approach. Information Systems 29(2), 187–203 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Parnas, D.L.: On the criteria to be used in decomposing systems into modules. Commun. ACM 15(12), 1053–1058 (1972)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Prehofer, C.: Feature-oriented programming: a fresh look at objects. In: Akşit, M., Matsuoka, S. (eds.) ECOOP 1997. LNCS, vol. 1241, pp. 419–443. Springer, Heidelberg (1997). doi:10.1007/BFb0053389

    Google Scholar 

  43. Rashid, A., Sawyer, P., Moreira, A., Araújo, J.: Early aspects: a model for aspect-oriented requirements engineering. In: RE 2002, pp. 199–202 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  44. Saliber, D., Dey, A.K., Abowd, G.D.: The context toolkit: aiding the development of context-enabled applications. In: CHI 1999, pp. 434–441 (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  45. Salifu, M., Nuseibeh, B., Rapanotti, L., Tun, T.T.: Using problem descriptions to represent variability for context-aware applications. In: VaMoS 2007 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  46. Salifu, M., Yu, Y., Nuseibeh, B.: Specifying monitoring and switching problems in context. In: RE 2007, pp. 211–220 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  47. Salvaneschi, G., Ghezzi, C., Pradella, M.: ContextErlang: A language for distributed context-aware self-adaptive applications. Sci. Comput. Program. 102(1), 20–43 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  48. Schärli, N., Ducasse, S., Nierstrasz, O., Black, A.P.: Traits: composable units of behaviour. In: Cardelli, L. (ed.) ECOOP 2003. LNCS, vol. 2743, pp. 248–274. Springer, Heidelberg (2003). doi:10.1007/978-3-540-45070-2_12

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  49. Sutcliffe, A., Fickas, S., Sohlberg, M.K.M.: PC-RE: a method for personal and contextual requirements engineering with some experience. Requirements Eng. 11(3), 157–173 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Takeyama, F., Chiba, S.: Implementing feature interactions with generic feature modules. In: Binder, W., Bodden, E., Löwe, W. (eds.) SC 2013. LNCS, vol. 8088, pp. 81–96. Springer, Heidelberg (2013). doi:10.1007/978-3-642-39614-4_6

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  51. Vallejos, J., González, S., Costanza, P., De Meuter, W., D’Hondt, T., Mens, K.: Predicated generic functions: enabling context-dependent method dispatch. In: Baudry, B., Wohlstadter, E. (eds.) SC 2010. LNCS, vol. 6144, pp. 66–81. Springer, Heidelberg (2010). doi:10.1007/978-3-642-14046-4_5

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ritsumeikan University, 1-1-1 Noji-higashi, Kusatsu, Shiga, 525-8577, Japan

    Tetsuo Kamina

  2. Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ohokayama, Meguro, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan

    Tomoyuki Aotani & Hidehiko Masuhara

  3. Hosei University, 3-7-2 Kajino-cho, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8584, Japan

    Tetsuo Tamai

Authors
  1. Tetsuo Kamina
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tomoyuki Aotani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hidehiko Masuhara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tetsuo Tamai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tetsuo Kamina .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Shigeru Chiba

  2. École des Mines de Nantes, Nantes, France

    Mario Südholt

  3. Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA

    Patrick Eugster

  4. SUNY at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA

    Lukasz Ziarek

  5. University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA

    Gary T. Leavens

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Kamina, T., Aotani, T., Masuhara, H., Tamai, T. (2016). Context-Oriented Software Development with Generalized Layer Activation Mechanism. In: Chiba, S., Südholt, M., Eugster, P., Ziarek, L., Leavens, G. (eds) Transactions on Modularity and Composition I. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 9800. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46969-0_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46969-0_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-46968-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-46969-0

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation