Face-off: AOP+LMP vs. legacy software

Our presentation relates on a first attempt to see if aspect-oriented programming (AOP) can really help with the revitalisation of legacy business software. By means of four realistic case studies covering reverse engineering, restructuring and integration, we discuss the applicability of the aspect-oriented paradigm in the context of two major programming languages for such environments: Cobol and C. For each case, we consider both advantages and disadvantages

The Evolution of the Linux Build System

Software evolution entails more than just redesigning and reimplementing functionality of, fixing bugs in, or adding new features to source code. These evolutionary forces induce similar changes on the software's build system too, with far-reaching consequences on both overall developer productivity as well as software configurability. In this paper we take a look at this phenomenon in the Linux kernel from its inception up until present day. We do this by analysing the kernel's build traces with MAKAO, our re(verse)-engineering framework for build systems. This helps us in detecting interesting idioms and patterns in the dynamic build behaviour. Finding a good balance between obtaining a fast, correct build system and migrating in a stepwise fashion turns out to be the general theme throughout the evolution of the Linux build system

Aspect-orientation for revitalising legacy business software

AbstractThis paper relates on a first attempt to see if aspect-oriented programming (AOP) and logic meta-programming (LMP) can help with the revitalisation of legacy business software. By means of four realistic case studies covering reverse engineering, restructuring and integration, we discuss the applicability of the aspect-oriented paradigm in the context of two major programming languages for legacy environments: Cobol and C

AOP for legacy environments, a case study

We present a case study where we applied Aspect Orientation (AO) against an industrial, legacy, non Object Oriented application, in an effort to regain lost knowledge thereof. We start off by briefly discussing some of the problems which arise in such software, as well as how aspects might aid in alleviating them. We then discuss the implementation of an aspect language for C, aspicere, which is based on declarative pointcuts and meta information. Finally, we present the case study itself, as well as preliminary results of regained knowledge of the system

Applying dynamic analysis in a legacy context: An industrial experience report

This paper describes our experiences with applying dynamic analysis solutions with the help of Aspect Orientation (AO) on an industrial legacy application written in C. The purpose of this position paper is two-fold: (1) we want to show that the use of Aspect Orientation to perform dynamic analysis is particularly suited for legacy environments and (2) we want to share our experiences concerning some typical pitfalls when applying any reverse engineering technique on a legacy codebase. 1