Static and Dynamic High-Integrity Architectural Application Frameworks

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The construction of modular and flexible software systems by assembling components is one of the central problems in software engineering. To address this problem, many different approaches such as object-oriented frameworks and product line architectures have been proposed as paradigms in which to create and extend software systems. These paradigms support architectural applications families (AAFs) that rely on a core system shared by all applications where each application differs by their variable extensions. However, while these architectural application families are generic, there is a wide range of mechanisms that support their diverse variability. Indeed, the extensions supported by these and other approaches can be based on many different concern-based composition mechanisms such as aspects, object-oriented views, patterns, higher-order polymorphism, connectors and wrappers. These extensions lead to different module notions, but the relationship among these approaches is currently not well understood. Composing and integrating static and dynamic concern-based extensions (i.e., at design and runtime, respectively) is a complex task for which failures from internal violations or undesirable interactions may be at last revealed only as costly accidents. Further, the concern-based extensions need to be governed by guarantees involving constraints and contracts, and verification methods are needed to ensure that the concern-based extensions behave as expected. The general goal of this research project is to define and evaluate a new flexible and modular approach to static and dynamic concern-based extensions in the design and evolution of high-integrity architectural application families. The research focuses on (i) fundamental problems in concern-based modularity and extensions; (ii) static concern-based AAF extensions based on process-oriented methods, constraints and contracts; (iii) dynamic concern-based AAF extensions based on constraints, contracts, context and events, including support relying on the context-aware publish-subscribe style; and (iv) high-assurance techniques based on workflows for verifying architectural application framework design, integration and evolution based on multiple static and dynamic analyses (e.g., model checking, logic programming). This research will augment the current model-centric focus on architectures with a concern-based perspective and provide principled support for modularity and flexibility, two cornerstones of developing AAFs. It will also offer excellent training through national and international collaborations in an area that is strategic to Canada, support software researchers, engineers and developers in software design and evolution, and help to provide more skilled, globally competitive software experts and increase the economic competitiveness of the Canadian software industry.