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ABSTRACTS OF TECHREPORTS 2001
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#Reference:
vub-prog-tr-01-01
"Transformational Software Evolution by Assertions"
Tom Mens
CSRM 2001 Workshop on Formal Foundations of Software Evolution, Lisbon, March 2001.

#Abstract:
This paper explores the use of software transformations as a
formal foundation for software evolution. More precisely, we
express software transformations in terms of assertions
(preconditions, postconditions and invariants) on top of the
formalism of graph rewriting. This allows us to tackle scalability
issues in a straightforward way. Useful applications include:
detecting syntactic merge conflicts, removing redundancy in a
transformation sequence, factoring out common subsequences,
etc.

#Keywords:
software evolution, software merging, graph rewriting, assertions, pre- and postconditions


#Reference:
vub-prog-tr-01-02
"Experiences in Mobile Computing: The CBorg Mobile Multi-Agent System"
Werner Van Belle, Johan Fabry, Karsten Verelst, Theo D'Hondt
Published in ...

#Abstract:
This paper reports on our experiences in the field of mobile components. In the past 4 years we developed a mobile component system, which allowed us to experiment with code mobility in distributed systems. These experiments have given us a unique opportunity to study two major issues in mobile component systems. The first issue is how to develop and provide a robust mobile component architecture. The second issue is how to write code in these kinds of systems. This paper discusses our experience in both of the above.

#Keywords:

#Reference:
vub-prog-tr-01-03
"Proceedings of the Workshop on Formal Foundations of Software Evolution"
Tom Mens, Michel Wermelinger
March 2001
Technical Report UNL-DI-1-2001
Departamento de Inform\'{a}tica
Faculdade de Ci\^{e}ncias e Tecnologia
Universidade Nova de Lisboa
2825-114 Caparica, Portugal

#Abstract:
Numerous scientific studies of large-scale software systems have shown that about 80% of the
total cost of software development is devoted to software maintenance. This is mainly due to
the fact that software systems are under constant evolution to cope with changing requirements. Today this is more than ever the case, because of the dramatic evolution of
technology, the ever changing legislation, etc. Despite this omnipresence of software evolution, existing tools that try to offer support are far from ideal. They are often implemented in an ad-hoc way, are not generally applicable, are not scalable, or they are difficult to integrate with other tools.
The goal of this workshop is to try and find out how formal techniques can
alleviate those problems, and how they can lead to tools for large-scale software systems
that are more robust and more widely applicable without sacrificing efficiency. Preferably,
provided techniques should not be restricted to a particular phase in the software life-cycle, but should be generally applicable throughout the entire software development process.

#Keywords:
software evolution, formal foundations, graph rewriting, software
maintenance, tool support, scalability

#Reference:
vub-prog-tr-01-04
"Features and Feature Interaction in Software Engineering using Logic"
Ragnhild Van Der Straeten, Johan Brichau
ECOOP 2001 workshop on Feature Interactions in Composed Systems

#Abstract:
Feature interactions are common when composing a software unit out of several features. We report on two experimental approaches using logic to describe features and feature interactions. The first approach proposes description logic as a formalization of feature models which allow reasoning about features. In the second approach, a metalevel representation of the software is proposed to capture conditions on features. These conditions are written in terms of the software's implementation providing a uniform formalism that can be applied to any software unit.

#Keywords:
feature interactions, description logic, logic meta-programming


#Reference:
vub-prog-tr-01-05
"Evolution Metrics"
Tom Mens, Serge Demeyer
Proc. Int. Workshop Principles of Software Evolution, Vienna, September 2001

#Abstract:
Since the famous statement "What is not measurable make measurable"
of Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642) it has been a major goal in
science to quantify observations as a way to understand and control
the underlying causes. With the growing awareness that evolution
is a key aspect of software, an increasing number of computer
scientists is investigating how metrics can be applied to evolving
software artifacts. This paper provides a classification of the various
approaches that use metrics to understand and control the software
evolution process, gives concrete examples for each of the
approaches, and identifies topics that require further research. As
such, we expect that this paper will stimulate this emerging research
area.

#Keywords:
software evolution, evolution metrics

#Reference:
vub-prog-tr-01-06
"Formal Foundations of Software Evolution: Workshop Report"
Tom Mens, Michel Wermelinger
Published in ACM Software Engineering Notes, July 2001

#Abstract:
This paper summarises the results of the discussions held during
the workshop on Formal Foundations of Software Evolution in
Lisbon on March 13, 2001. These results can be used as guidelines
when dealing with software evolution in general, and when
providing formal tool support for it in particular.

#Keywords:
software evolution, software engineering, formal
foundations, software change, software maintenance

#Reference:
vub-prog-tr-01-07
"Towards a Software Evolution Benchmark"
Serge Demeyer, Tom Mens, Michel Wermelinger
Proc. Int. Workshop Principles of Software Evolution, Vienna, September 2001

#Abstract:
Case-studies are extremely popular in rapidly evolving
research disciplines such as software engineering because they
allow for a quick but fair assessment of new techniques.
Unfortunately, a proper experimental set-up is rarely the case:
all too often case-studies are based on a single small toy example
chosen to favour the technique under study. Such
lack of scientific rigor prevents fair evaluation and has serious
consequences for the credibility of our field. In this paper, we
propose to use a representative set of cases as a benchmark for
comparing various techniques dealing with software
evolution. We hope that this proposal will launch a consensus
building process that eventually must lead to a scientifically
sound validation method for researchers investigating reverse and
re-engineering techniques.

#Keywords:
software evolution, empirical survey, case studies, benchmark


#Reference:
vub-prog-tr-01-08
"A Declarative Evolution Framework for Object-Oriented Design Patterns"
Tom Mens, Tom Tourwe
Proc. Int. Conf. Software Maintenance, pp. 570-579, IEEE Computer Society Press

#Abstract:
Object-oriented design patterns and high-level refactorings
are popular means of implementing and evolving
large object-oriented software systems. Unfortunately,
these techniques are inadequately supported at implementation
level by current-day software development environments.
To alleviate this problem, we propose to use the
promising technique of declarative metaprogramming. It
offers a tight, yet flexible, symbiosis between a base language
and a metalevel declarative reasoning engine. It
provides a uniform and language-independent way to specify
design patterns and transformations declaratively, to instantiate
patterns and generate code for them, and to deal
with the evolution of these pattern instances. Providing support
for evolution of a software system in terms of the design
pattern instances it uses is the main emphasis of this paper.

#Keywords:
software evolution, design patterns, refactoring, transformation


#Reference:
vub-prog-tr-01-09
"A Formal Foundation for Object-Oriented Software Evolution"
Tom Mens
Proc. Int. Conf. Software Maintenance, pp. 549-552, IEEE Computer Society Press

#Abstract:
My PhD thesis claims that the principles behind
object-oriented software evolution are independent of
a particular domain or phase in the software lifecycle.
To validate this claim, a formalism based on
graphs and graph rewriting was developed and
applied to a particular aspect of software evolution,
namely the problem of software upgrading and
software merging. When the same piece of software is
modified in parallel by different software developers,
unexpected inconsistencies can arise. Formal support
can be provided to detect and resolve these
inconsistencies in a general way.

#Keywords:
software evolution, merging, evolution conflict

#Reference:
vub-prog-tr-01-10
"Supporting Software Development through Declaratively Codified Programming Patterns"
Kim Mens, Isabel Michiels, Roel Wuyts
Proc. Int. Conf. Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering, June 2001

#Abstract:
In current-day software development, programmers often
use programming patterns to clarify their intents and to
increase the understandability of their programs. Unfortunately,
most software development environments do not adequately
support the declaration and use of such patterns.
To explicitly codify these patterns, we adopt a declarative
meta-programming approach. In this approach, we reify the
structure of an (object-oriented) program in terms of logic
clauses. We declare programming patterns as logic rules
on top of these clauses. By querying the logic system, these
rules allow us to check, enforce and search for occurrences
of patterns in the software. As such, the programming patterns
become an active part of the development and maintenance
environment.

#Keywords:
programming patterns, logic programming, meta-programming, tool support


#Reference:
vub-prog-tr-01-11
"Supporting Software Development through Declaratively Codified Programming Patterns"
Kim Mens, Isabel Michiels, Roel Wuyts
In Journal on Expert Systems with Applications, Elsevier publications

#Abstract:
In current-day software development, programmers often use programming patterns to clarify
their intents and to increase the understandability of their programs. Unfortunately, most
software development environments do not adequately support the declaration and use of
such patterns. To explicitly codify these patterns, we adopt a declarative meta programming
approach. In this approach, we reify the structure of an (object-oriented) program in terms
of logic clauses. We declare programming patterns as logic rules on top of these clauses.
By querying the logic system, these rules allow us to check, enforce and search for occurrences

#Keywords:
programming patterns, logic programming, meta programming, tool support,
object-oriented programming


#Reference:
vub-prog-tr-01-12
"Software-architectuur als middel tegen software-erosie"
Kim Mens
AKADEMOS --- Informatieblad van de Vrije Universiteit Brussel, jaargang 4, nummer 1, 2001

#Abstract:
based on an interview with Dr. Kim Mens, written by S. Van Den Bossche

#Keywords:


#Reference:
vub-prog-tr-01-13
"Algoritme controleert computerprogramma's"
Persbericht, 02/03/2001, afdeling Wetenschapscommunicatie VUB

#Abstract:
based on an interview with Dr. Kim Mens, written by S. Van Den Bossche

#Keywords:


#Reference:
vub-prog-tr-01-14
"4th Workshop on Object-Oriented Architectural Evolution"
Tom Mens, Galal Hassan Galal
ECOOP 2001 Workshop Reader, Springer Verlag, 2001

#Abstract:
The aim of the fourth workshop on Object-Oriented Architectural
Evolution was to discuss into more detail a number of important issues raised
during the previous workshop: the relationship between domain analysis and software
architecture, the importance of architectural views and layering techniques,
and the applicability of existing object-oriented principles and evolution techniques.
This paper summarises the results of the debates held about these issues,
reports on convergences of view taken place during the workshop, and suggests
some research topics that are worthwhile to pursue in the future.

#Key words:
object orientation, software architecture, software evolution, domain analysis


#Reference:
vub-prog-tr-01-19
"Using meta-level constructs in Web personalization"
Sofie Goderis, Gustavo Rossi, Andres Fortier, Juan Cappi, Daniel Schwabe
Proc. ICC2001, Special Session on Web Personalization; Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence series (LNCS/LNAI), Springer-Verlag, 2001

#Abstract:

#Keywords:
personalization


#EndABSTRACTS OF DISSERTATIONS 2001
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#Reference:
vub-prog-phd-01-01
"A Logic Meta-Programming Approach to Support the Co-Evolution of Object-Oriented Design and Implementation"
Roel Wuyts
PhD dissertation, Programming Technology Lab, January 2001

#Abstract:

#Keywords:


#Reference:
vub-prog-ms-01-01
"Personalization in Object-Oriented Systems"
Sofie Goderis
EMOOSE Masters dissertation, August 2001

#Abstract:

#Keywords:


#Reference:
vub-prog-ms-01-02
"Comparison between different Tree Flattening techniques
in an Indirect Reference Listed DGC"
Kristof De Vos
EMOOSE Masters dissertation, August 2001

#Abstract:

#Keywords:


#Reference:
vub-prog-lic-01-01
"Aspect-Oriented Programming using a Logic Meta Programming Language to express cross-cutting through a dynamic joinpoint structure"
Kris Gybels
Licenciate Dissertation, August 2001

#Abstract:

#Keywords:


#Reference:
vub-prog-lic-01-02
"A Finite State Machine Approach to Real-Time Scheduler Generation for Embedded Systems"
Jessie Dedecker
Licenciate Dissertation, July 2001

#Abstract:
Component-based development is a paradigm that explicitly emphasizes the reusability problem. Components are software pieces that are plugged together to form a program. Each component can be seen as a reusable part that can be plugged in other software compositions. Unfortunately embedded software has special characteristics (such as robustness, timing behaviour, ...), which compromise the reusability of such software.
Therefore, components are not adapted to the characteristics common to embedded software. A real-time system runs software in which the correctness of the program depends not only on the logical results, but also on the time at which the results are produced. Timing constraints are used to specify the temporal corectness of the software. A real-time system is often concurrent by nature. A scheduler determines which concurrent process has priority over the others to keep up with the timing constraints. We use an adapted component model in which all component communication is asynchronous. This thesis proposes a way to extract semantic data from the component source code. The extracted data can be converted to a deterministic finite automata (DFA) which can be used by a finite state machine (FSM) to track the progress of the software. The information of the tracker can be used to make scheduling decisions on a single-processor embedded system. The techniques presented in this dissertation are a first step towards the reusability of software components in real-time embedded software. 

#Keywords:


#End