A Technique for Dynamic Updating of Java Software

During maintenance, systems are updated to correct faults, improve functionality, and adapt the software to changes in its execution environment. The typical softwareupdate process consists of stopping the system to be updated, performing the update of the code, and restarting the system. For systems such as banking and telecommunication software, however, the cost of downtime can be prohibitive. The situation is even worse for systems such as air-traffic controllers and life-support software, for which a shut-down is in general not an option. In those cases, the use of some form of on-the-fly program modification is required. In this paper, we present a new technique for dynamic updating of Java software. Our technique is based on the use of proxy classes and requires no support from the runtime system. The technique allows for updating a running Java program by substituting, adding, and deleting classes. We also present DUSC (Dynamic Updating through Swapping of Classes), a tool ...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2002
• Where: ICSM
• Authors: Alessandro Orso, Anup Rao, Mary Jean Harrold
• Keywords: Dynamic Updating, ICSM 2002, Java Software, Software Engineering, Typical Softwareupdate Process