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Wednesday Afternoon
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| 69 | Building and Using Highly Re-useable and Configurable Frameworks Martine Devos, EDS Electronic Data Systems Michel Tilman, VUB Brussels Free University |
Colorado Convention Center - A109  |
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Object-oriented frameworks aim to capture the commonalities and variabilities of particular classes of applications through techniques such as inheritance and re-usable components. Knowledge about the variations, the common theme and the problem domain is usually buried in the program structures. This makes frameworks often harder to understand, use and test when building and maintaining applications. When we turn this implicit knowledge into explicit specifications, the resulting frameworks often become more concise and elegant. The applications built using the frameworks are easier to change and understand by less experienced developers and even users.
We show that many of these reflective frameworks are less exotic and complex, and easier to develop than is commonly thought. We present examples from existing frameworks and extract concepts, architectural and organizational patterns, and methods that work. We present the advantages and caveats of building a highly-reflective commercial framework, how to bootstrap it, and how to use it. Participants will gain a good understanding of:
Attendee Background: Participants should be experienced in object-oriented design and development. The tutorial is targeted at software architects and technical leads. Martine Devos recently joined EDS as a reuse consultant. Before this she was IS-manager at Argo where she initiated and coordinated the development of a framework and several applications using it. She has organized several workshops and panels at major OO conferences and is conference chair of EuroPlop 99. Michel Tilman started his career at the VUB in the Mathematics Department. In 1985 he joined the Programming Technology Lab, teaching diverse entry-level and advanced courses. His research activities centered on object-oriented frameworks for CSCW applications and the practical use of reflection. As architect of the Argo project he applied these techniques in a commercial environment. |
