Using Executable Domain Models to Implement Legacy Software Re-Engineering Position Paper

Abstract

In this position paper, we advocate a domain-centric approach to the evolution of legacy systems. The migration of legacy systems is a difficult endeavor because traditional methods have two principal deficiencies. First, they fail to capture the context of a system, i.e., its domain. Second, the legacy system’s comprehension results are not directly usable for the system evolution. We propose the construction of executable domain models to alleviate both problems. The construction of an executable domain model entails a process of domain analysis that leads to a domain model, as well as the transition of the former to an executable state. The domain model provides domain expectations that drive legacy system understanding. The executable domain model provides a medium in which the result of the legacy system comprehension can be recorded. In fact, the executable domain model is instantiated using the system requirements derived during program comprehension. The artifact thus created takes the role of the re-engineered program. Our work uses the technique of object-oriented frameworks (OOF) as the executable domain model representation. 1