Automated Auditing of Design Principle Adherence

Software design patterns and refactoring browsers are useful tools in developing high-quality software. Object-Oriented Oracle (OOO) is a tool that combines patterns and refactoring and extends them with the ability to recognize when the source-base doesn't adhere to software design principles. OOO relies on sophisticated compiler analyses and a set of heuristics to recognize characteristics of the code where a design principle is applicable, but is not being used. We present an example where the OOO can recognize noncompliance of design rules and the analyses and heuristics that are used to do the recognition. We also discuss other patterns where this approach applies and results from a prototype