workshops

sunday

12

Pragmatic Issues in Using Frameworks Implications for Framework Design

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Frameworks have been put forward as key components for achieving reuse of analysis, design, and implementation of object-oriented technology. While a good framework can meet these goals, the use of frameworks provides new and different challenges to the applications designer/developer.

The purpose of this workshop is to explore how the applications design process is changed by the introduction of frameworks, and to learn what this means for effective framework design. It will be a forum for framework designers and users to identify issues, discuss ideas, and propose guidelines for effective framework design.

Questions for discussion will include, but not be limited to, the following:

• When a framework provides an "approximate" fit to an application domain, how can a user expect to modify or extend the framework?
• How can a framework support product evolution as the fundamental application domain changes?
• What types of problems arise when multiple frameworks must be integrated? How do we go about structuring frameworks to ease the difficulty of integration?
• In what applications contexts is framework development desirable, or even practical?
• What is the relationship between frameworks and COTS?

Before the workshop, position papers will be made available for review. The workshop will begin with a group introduction, to discuss participants' interests and expectations. A set of focussed discussion groups will be identified based upon the group's common interests. These small groups will brainstorm on their chosen topic areas. In the afternoon, the session will reconvene, and the small groups will present their findings. The day will end with an open discussion aimed at gathering common guidelines for framework design.

Organizers:

David Laurance, Lucent Technologies
Email: dlaurance@lucent.com  

Dave Williamson, ObjecTime Limited