Pitfalls in Unanticipated Dynamic Software Evolution

Abstract. The authors of this paper have all developed a framework that allows runtime adaptation of software systems. Based on our experiences, we wish to summarize common pitfalls concerning dynamic software evolution. Systems for dynamic adaptation typically follow a certain process which is used as a starting point in this paper. The problems that occur in the different steps of this evolution process are given and a suggestion is made on how these problems can be tackled. The reader will notice that the solution to most of the pitfalls lies in the use of reflection, meta-data and meta-object protocols. We conclude that reflection or meta-object protocol manipulations are indispensable in the process of dynamic software evolution. 1 Problem Statement Lehman [1] defines software evolution as the collection of all programming activities intended to generate a new version from an older and operational version. The problem of software evolution occurs after the initial delivery of ...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: ECOOP
• Authors: Peter Ebraert, Theo D'Hondt, Yves Vandewoude, Yolande Berbers
• Keywords: Dynamic Software Evolution, ECOOP 2005, Meta-object Protocol, Programming Languages, Software Evolution