On handling exceptions

ABSTRACT

The current literature of information systems has dealt extensively with all kinds of exceptions. There are several studies defining the concept of exception and even providing classifications. However, no studies provide a method for verifying the rules in order to handle exceptions and to achieve the goals set by an organization's rules. In this paper, a model employing a set of unique input/output (UIO) sequences is presented for verifying such rules. The model originally presented for Finite State Machines (FSM) has been modified to include concepts of exception handling and will be used to form a tool usable for verifying exception handling rules in OISs.

REFERENCES

• 1: Auram/iki, E. and Lepp~inen M. Exceptions and Office Information Systems. In P. Pernici, A. A.. Verrijn- Stuart Ed. Office Information Systems: The Design Process, Elsevier Science Publishers B. V. (North- Holland), IFIP, 1989, pp. 167-182
• 2: Alexander Borgida, Exceptions in object-oriented languages, ACM SIGPLAN Notices, v.21 n.10, p.107-119, Oct. 1986
• 3: Alexander Borgida, Language features for flexible handling of exceptions in information systems, ACM Transactions on Database Systems (TODS), v.10 n.4, p.565-603, Dec. 1985 [doi>10.1145/4879.4995]
• 4: Carol Broverman, Constructive interpretation of human-generated exceptions during plan execution, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 1991
• 5: Cheriton, D. Making Exceptions Simplify the Rule and Justify Their Handling. Information Processing 86, H. J. Kugler Ed. North-Holland, 1986
• 6: Cox, B. Exception Handling and Object Oriented Programming. Workshop-paper presented at ECOOP'91, Geneva, July, 1991
• 7: Christophe Dony, Exception handling and object-oriented programming: towards a synthesis, Proceedings of the European conference on object-oriented programming on Object-oriented programming systems, languages, and applications, p.322-330, September 1990, Ottawa, Canada
• 8: Ellis, C.A. Formal and Informal Models of Office Activity. Information Processing 83, R. E. A, Mason Ed. Elsevier Science Publishers B. V. (North-Holland), IFIP, 1983, pp. 11-22
• 9: Ellis C.A. Information Control Nets: A Mathematical Model of Office Information Flow. Proceedings of A CM conference on Simulation, Measurement and Modeling of Computer Systems, 1979, pp. 225-239
• 10: Jay R. Galbraith, Designing Complex Organizations, Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc., Boston, MA, 1973
• 11: Galbraith, J. R. Organization Design, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1977
• 12: H. J. Genrich, Predicate/transition nets, Advances in Petri nets 1986, part I on Petri nets: central models and their properties, p.207-247, January 1987, Bad Honnef
• 13: John B. Goodenough, Exception handling: issues and a proposed notation, Communications of the ACM, v.18 n.12, p.683-696, Dec. 1975 [doi>10.1145/361227.361230]
• 14: Bernhard H. Karbe , Norbert G. Ramsperger, Influence of exception handling on the support of cooperative office work, ACM SIGOIS Bulletin, v.11 n.4, p.2-15, Dec. 1990 [doi>10.1145/122220.122221]
• 15: J. S. Kunuin , Jay S Kunin, ANALYSIS AND SPECIFICATION OF OFFICE PROCEDURES, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 1982
• 16: Liskov, B. A. and Snyder, A. Exception Handling in CLU. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, SE- 5, 6 (Nov. 1979), 546-558
• 17: Masapati, G. H., White, G. M., TP Nets: A Computer Based Tool for Office System Design. Proc of IFIP WG8.4 Working Conference on Offi'ce System Design, Linz, Austria, Aug. 15 - I7, 1988, pp. 116-t 29
• 18: Rezaki, A., Ural, H., White, G. Construction of Checking Sequences Based on UIO Sequences. Proc. of Ninth Int. Syrup. on Computer and Information Sciences, Antalya, Turkey, Nov. 7-9, 1994, pp. 319-326
• 19: Saastamoinen,. H. T. Rules and Exceptions. Information Modeling and Knowledge Bases IV: Concepts, Methods and Systems, H. Kangassalo, H. Jaakkola, K. Hori, T. Kitashi Eds. IOS Press, Amsterdam, 1993, pp. 271-286
• 20: Saastamoinen, H. T. Significance of Exceptions in Office Information Systems - A Case Study in Valmet Paper Machinery, preprint, 1994
• 21: Saastamoinen, H. T., Savolainen, V. V. Exception Handling in Office Information Systems, Proc. of the Third Intl. Conf on Dynamic Modeling of Information Systems, Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands, 1992, pp. 345-363
• 22: Saastamoinen, H. T., Exceptions: Three Views and a Taxonomy, preprint, 1995
• 23: Saastamoinen, H. T., Markkanen, M. V., and Savolainen, V, V. Survey on Exceptions in Office Information Systems, Univ of Colorado at Boulder Tech. Report CU-CS-712-94, 1994
• 24: Strong, D. A. and Miller, S. M. Exception Handling and Quality Control in Office Operations, Boston University School of Managemel~t Working Paper Number 89-16, Boston, MA, 1989
• 25: Lucy A. Suchman, Office procedure as practical action: models of work and system design, ACM Transactions on Information Systems (TOIS), v.1 n.4, p.320-328, Oct. 1983 [doi>10.1145/357442.357445]
• 26: Twining, W. and Miers, D. How to Do Things with Rules, A Primer of Interpretation, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1976
• 27: Williams, L. J. and Lochovsky, F. H., Supporting Knowledge Migration in Organizations, Information Processing 89, Ritter, G. X. Ed., Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam, 1989, 259-264

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.4 INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.2 Design Tools and Techniques
          Subjects: Petri nets

  F. Theory of Computation
  F.1 COMPUTATION BY ABSTRACT DEVICES
      F.1.1 Models of Computation
          Subjects: Automata (e.g., finite, push-down, resource-bounded)

  H. Information Systems
  H.4 INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS

  J. Computer Applications
  J.1 ADMINISTRATIVE DATA PROCESSING
      Subjects: Business

General Terms:
Design, Human Factors, Verification