Abstract:
As part of a project to develop scalable development techniques for
systems written in the Java programming language, we are investigating
the suitability of the package construct in Java as a system
structuring mechanism. Although the Java package is incomplete in
this regard, it represents a good foundation when combined with an
advanced programming environment inspired by Vesta. The few ways in
which the Java package is unsuitable appear to be correctable with
careful programming conventions and support from the environment.
At the center of the proposed approach is the notion of a hierarchical namespace based on Internet Domain Names populated by reusable, independently versioned packages, each of which encapsulates a parameterized build script. This concept unifies several important aspects of software development and permits the design of tools that simplify the development process. A laboratory prototype environment, based on persistent Java objects, is being constructed and now supports its own development.
8th Conference on Software Engineering Environments, Cottbus, Germany, 8-9 April 1997, pp. 155-163.
9 pages (PDF)