Composing architectural aspects based on style semantics

ABSTRACT

The lack of architecturally-significant mechanisms for aspectual composition might artificially hinder the specification of stable and reusable design aspects. Current aspect-oriented approaches at the architecture-level tend to mimic programming language join point models while overlooking mainstream architectural concepts such as styles and their semantics. Syntax-based pointcuts are typically used to select join points based on the names of architectural elements, exposing architecture descriptions to pointcut fragility and reusability problems. This paper presents style-based composition, a new flavor of aspect composition at the architectural level based on architectural styles. We propose style-based join point models and provide a pointcut language that supports the selection of join points based on style-constrained architectural models. Stability and reusability assessments of the proposed style-based composition model were carried out through three case studies involving different styles. The interplay of style-based pointcuts and some style composition techniques is also discussed.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
        D.2.11 Software Architectures
            Subjects: Languages (e.g., description, interconnection, definition)

General Terms:
Design, Languages, Verification

Keywords:
architectural aspects, architectural styles, pointcut languages, style-based composition