The theory of classification - part 10: method combination and super-reference

The object-oriented theory of classification is analyzed, using models of inheritance with method combination. The method combination strategies using inheritance were found to be equivalent to replacement method. The method combination is achieved by Smalltalk and Java languages and the pseudo-variable in these languages allows a programmer to invoke an inherited version of a method inside the redefined version of same method. The method also provided the pseudo-variable super with two semantic interpretations. The original renaming operator to account for Eiffel's behaviour is also proposed

Layered, server-based support for Object-Oriented application development

Journal ArticleThis paper advocates the idea that the physical modularity (file structure) of application components supported by conventional OS environments can be elevated to the level of logical modularity, which in turn can directly support application development in an object-oriented manner. We demonstrate this idea through a system-wide server process that manages a separate logical layer of components. The server is designed to be a central operating system service responsible for mapping component instances into client address spaces. We show how this model solves some longstanding problems with the management and binding of application components in existing operating system environments. We illustrate with examples that this model's effectiveness derives from its support for the cornerstones of 0-0 programming: classes and their instances, encapsulation, and several forms of inheritance

Modular language processors as framework completions

Journal ArticleThe conceptual and specificational power of denotational semantics for programming language design has been amply demonstrated. We report here on a language implementation method that is similarly semantically motivated, but is based upon object-oriented design principles, and results in flexible and evolvable language processors. We apply this technique to the area of object-oriented (O-O) languages, in the form of a general metalevel architecture for objects and inheritance that facilitates the development of compilers and interpreters for 0-0 languages. This development strategy maintains architectural modularity by mapping conceptual language design decisions to isolatable parts of resulting language processors. Our architecture, which is presented as an OO framework, is characterized by (i) support for a broad set of modularity features including encapsulation and strong typing, and (ii) an "unbundled" view of inheritance, semantic features of which are decomposed by means of a set of module combination operations (combinators). We describe an implementation of our framework in C++, and assess its utility by constructing a compiler for a simple 0 - 0 extension to the programming language C. We further argue the flexibility of the resulting processor by outlining the incorporation of several significant extensions to the basic module language. We claim that the use of such a framework for compiler construction has many advantages, including a systematic language development method, processor software reuse, language extensibility, and potential for interoperability among languages.

ETYMA: a framework for modular systems

Journal ArticleModularity, i.e. support for the flexible construction, adaptation, and combination of units of software, is an important goal in many systems. In most cases, however, systems achieve only a few aspects of modularity. The problem can be traced to the inflexibility, or the limited view of modularity taken by the underlying architecture of these systems. As a remedy, we show that the notions fundamental to object-oriented programming, i.e. classes and inheritance, can be formulated as a simple meta-level architecture that can be effectively reused in a wide variety of contexts. We have realized such an architecture as an O-O framework, and constructed two significant and distinct completions of it. Systems based on this framework benefit not only from design and code reuse, but also from the flexibility that the architecture offers. In addition, the architecture represents a unification of the fundamental ideas of several similar but subtly different module systems

Introduction to the Literature on Programming Language Design

This is an introduction to the literature on programming language design and related topics. It is intended to cite the most important work, and to provide a place for students to start a literature search