System = program + users + law

ABSTRACT

This paper is based on a new approach for dealing with large scale software systems. This approach is based on the concept of a Law-Governed System, which is a triple >program, users, law< where the law is an explicit and strictly enforced set of rules about the structure and operation of the program, and about the evolution of the entire system. We describe Darwin, a skeleton of a programming environment that supports our notion of law-governed systems. Darwin is based on the object-oriented programming paradigm and uses logic programming to express and enforce the law.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

Additional Classification:
  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.2 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
      I.2.4 Knowledge Representation Formalisms and Methods
          Subjects: Representations (procedural and rule-based)

General Terms:
Design, Human Factors, Performance