An approach for Framework Construction and Instantiation Using Pattern Languages Rosana Teresinha Vaccare Braga Paulo Cesar Masiero ICMC-USP: Institute of Mathematical and Computer Sciences of the University of São Paulo São Carlos – SP – Brazil ACIS International Conference on Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, e-Business, and Applications (CSITeA’02)

Contents 1- Introduction and motivation 2- Overview of the approach 3- Pattern Language Development 4- White-box Framework Development 5- Wizard development 6- Framework instantiation 7- Concluding remarks

Contents 1- Introduction and motivation 2- Overview of the approach 3- Pattern Language Development 4- White-box Framework Development 5- Wizard development 6- Framework instantiation 7- Concluding remarks

1 – Introduction and Motivation Software Reuse: –Software Patterns: capture experience acquired during software development, synthesizing it in a problem/solution pair. –Pattern languages: organization of the knowledge about a specific domain into specific patterns that can be systematically applied in the development of systems in the same domain. –Frameworks: set of abstract and concrete classes that can be customized to produce specific applications. Problem: complexity to build and use frameworks

1 – Introduction and Motivation Relationship between frameworks and pattern languages: –Pattern languages can be used to: document the framework Support the framework design and implementation Guide the transformation of the framework into a concrete application Our proposal: –an approach to develop a framework from a pattern language, and –to use this pattern language to instantiate the framework to specific applications

Contents 1- Introduction and motivation 2- Overview of the approach 3- Pattern Language Development 4- White-box Framework Development 5- Wizard development 6- Framework instantiation 7- Concluding remarks

2 - Approach for Framework Construction and Instantiation Specific Systems Pattern Language Development Experience in a specific domain STEP 1 Specific System Specific System Wizard Programming language STEP 3 Wizard Development Pattern Language Programming language Requirements of a Specific Application STEP 4 (a) White-box- driven Instantiation "Cookbook" White-box Framework Pattern Language Wizard- driven Instantiation Requirements of a Specific Application STEP 4 (b) Design- patterns/ metapatterns STEP 2 Programming language White-box Framework Development

Contents 1- Introduction and motivation 2- Overview of the approach 3- Pattern Language Development 4- White-box Framework Development 5- Wizard development 6- Framework instantiation 7- Concluding remarks

3 - Pattern Language Development Objective: building a pattern language to capture the domain functionality and to guide the development of applications in the domain Based on practical experience in the domain, domain analysis, or reverse engineering of existing systems

3 - Pattern Language Development Steps: –1) Produce an analysis model of the domain –2) Define the patterns of the pattern language Look at recurring analysis patterns that are implicit in the model Look at other pattern languages for equivalent domains Try to isolate each pattern according to specific functions performed Try to create optional patterns when there are optional functions –3) Analyze interaction among patterns Illustrate this information with a diagram Do the cross-reference in the “Following patterns” section

GRN: A Pattern Language for Business Resource Management Quantify the Resource Quantify the Resource (2) Store the Resource (3) Rent the Resource (4) Reserve the Resource (5) Trade the Resource (6) Quote the Trade (7) Check Resource Delivery (8) Maintain theResource (9) Quote the Maintenance (10) Identify Maintenance Tasks (14) Identify Maintenance Parts (15) Itemize the Resource Transaction (11) Pay for the Resource Transaction (12) Identify the Resource Executor (13) Identify the Resource (1)

Contents 1- Introduction and motivation 2- Overview of the approach 3- Pattern Language Development 4- White-box Framework Development 5- Wizard development 6- Framework instantiation 7- Concluding remarks

4 - White-box Framework Development Objective: building a set of classes to support the development of applications in the same domain of the pattern language The classes belonging to patterns of the pattern language have the corresponding implementation in the framework

4 - White-box Framework Development Steps: –1) Identify the framework hot-spots, using the pattern language.framework hot-spots –2) Design the framework, based on the list of hot spots and on the pattern language. –3) Implement the framework –4) Document the mapping between the pattern language and the framework, to ease future instantiation

Example of GREN classes

Contents 1- Introduction and motivation 2- Overview of the approach 3- Pattern Language Development 4- White-box Framework Development 5- Wizard development 6- Framework instantiation 7- Concluding remarks

5 – Wizard Development Objective: creating a tool with a graphical user interface that follows the pattern language concepts Specific applications can be implemented by following the wizard instructions, i.e., the pattern language is interactively applied by filling in the wizard screens

5 – Wizard Development Data about the patterns, variants, classes, etc. can be stored in a meta-database and retrieved by the wizard Information filled in by the user is also stored in a database. Automatic adaptation of the framework to the specific application Example of GREN-Wizard screenExample of GREN-Wizard report

Contents 1- Introduction and motivation 2- Overview of the approach 3- Pattern Language Development 4- White-box Framework Development 5- Wizard development 6- Framework instantiation 7- Concluding remarks

6 – Framework Instantiation Objective: Adapt the framework to specific applications, obtaining an executable code Types of instantiation: –Using the white-box version of the framework –Using the wizard

6 – Framework Instantiation –Instantiation using the white-box version of the framework Pattern language usage to obtain the analysis model of the application to instantiate Mapping from the analysis model to the framework classes Implementation of the application Validation of the application

6 – Framework Instantiation –Instantiation using the wizard Pattern language usage to obtain the analysis model of the application to instantiate Usage of the Wizard to fill in the patterns applied and respective roles played by each class in each pattern Implementation of the application (done by the wizard) Validation of the application Example of application generated using GREN-Wizard

Contents 1- Introduction and motivation 2- Overview of the approach 3- Pattern Language Development 4- White-box Framework Development 5- Wizard development 6- Framework instantiation 7- Concluding remarks

7 - Concluding Remarks The approach here proposed intends to promote software reuse, allowing developers to better understand and use frameworks Instantiation is eased because: –The framework architecture is related to the patterns of the pattern language –No technical knowledge about the framework implementation details is necessary to derive new applications from it.

7 - Concluding Remarks Not all types of pattern languages could help framework construction and instantiation. Candidate pattern languages: –those that concern problems to be solved during analysis of systems in the domain Information systems are an example of a domain that is suitable for this approach.

Concluding Remarks (continued) During the framework usage in the development of specific applications and because of the application domain evolution, new hot spots may be necessary. –In this case, the pattern language must also be updated, including new patterns or changing existing ones.

Contact Rosana: Paulo: LABES (Software Engineering Lab at ICMC-USP) ( in Portuguese only ) My WEB page:

An approach for Framework Construction and Instantiation Using Pattern Languages Rosana Teresinha Vaccare Braga Paulo Cesar Masiero ICMC-USP: Institute of Mathematical and Computer Sciences of the University of São Paulo São Carlos – SP – Brazil ACIS International Conference on Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, e-Business, and Applications (CSITeA’02)

Example of Hot Spots table

GREN Wizard: A Tool to Automate GREN Instantiation

Example of a report generated by GREN-Wizard

Example of an application generated by the GREN-Wizard