On Language Processors and Software Maintenance

This work investigates declarative transformation tools in the context of software maintenance. Besides maintenance of the language specification, evolution of a software language requires the adaptation of the software written in that language as well as the adaptation of the software that transforms software written in the evolving language. This co-evolution is studied to derive automatic adaptations of artefacts from adaptations of the language specification. Furthermore, AOP for Prolog is introduced to improve maintainability of language specifications and derived tools.Die Arbeit unterstützt deklarative Transformationswerkzeuge im Kontext der Softwarewartung. Neben der Wartung der Sprachbeschreibung erfordert die Evolution einer Sprache sowohl die Anpassung der Software, die in dieser Sprache geschrieben ist als auch die Anpassung der Software, die diese Software transformiert. Diese Koevolution wird untersucht, um automatische Anpassungen von Artefakten von Anpassungen der Sprachbeschreibungen abzuleiten. Weiterhin wird AOP für Prolog eingeführt, um die Wartbarkeit von Sprachbeschreibungen und den daraus abgeleiteten Werkzeugen zu erhöhen

An Empirical Study of the LSS Specification Toolkit in Use

The LSS (Lightweight Specification System) toolkit assists in the development of logic programs, using a variety of high level specification methods. Many other high level specification systems impose a single, uniform view of how specification should proceed. In practice, there is normally no single understanding of how to describe specifications - there are instead a variety of different forms of description which have evolved from the work practices of various domains. Any attempt to disturb these work practices in a radical way will, naturally, meet with resistance unless those who must be educated in new methods can see clearly that they will benefit (soon) from their efforts. LSS addresses this problem by providing a collection of comparatively simple independent tools, each of which is directed at a particular community of users who might reasonably be expected to adjust to the tool without excessive effort. In this sense, LSS is lightweight - it is intended to be easy to pick u..