Research Article

KERIS: evolving software with extensible modules

  1. Matthias Zenger*

Article first published online: 26 SEP 2005

DOI: 10.1002/smr.320

Issue

Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution: Research and Practice

Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution: Research and Practice

Special Issue: Unanticipated Software Evolution

Volume 17, Issue 5, pages 333–362, September/October 2005

Additional Information

How to Cite

Zenger, M. (2005), KERIS: evolving software with extensible modules. Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution: Research and Practice, 17: 333–362. doi: 10.1002/smr.320

Author Information

  1. Programming Methods Laboratory, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), INR Ecublens, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

*Programming Methods Laboratory, School of Computer and Communication Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 26 SEP 2005
  2. Article first published online: 26 SEP 2005
  3. Manuscript Accepted:
  4. Manuscript Revised:
  5. Manuscript Received:

SEARCH

SEARCH BY CITATION

ARTICLE TOOLS

Get PDF (310K)

Keywords:

  • module systems;
  • component-oriented programming;
  • software reuse;
  • extensibility;
  • unanticipated software evolution;
  • module refinement;
  • module specialization

Abstract

We present the programming language KERIS, an extension of Java with explicit support for software evolution. KERIS introduces extensible modules as the basic building blocks for software. Modules are composed hierarchically, explicitly revealing the architecture of systems. A distinct feature of the module design is that modules do not get linked manually. Instead, the wiring of modules gets inferred. The module assembly and refinement mechanism of KERIS is not restricted to the unanticipated extensibility of atomic modules. It also allows extensions of already linked systems by replacing selected submodules with compatible versions without needing to re-link the full system. Extensibility is type-safe and non-invasive, i.e., the extension of a module preserves the original version and does not require access to source code. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Get PDF (310K)