Reflective Constraint Management for Languages on Virtual Platforms.

Royer, Mark; Alagić, Suad; Dillon, Dan

doi:10.5381/jot.2007.6.10.a1

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Java's generic type features are quite complicated and problematic [1], unlike the C# solution [23]. There also exists an extended virtual platform for JML [20] which allows management of JML constraints. Previously developed static tools include [6].…”

Section: Extending Jml To Support Types As Theoriesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Algebraic specification techniques for parametric types with logic-based constraints

Briggs

Alagić

2009

Proceedings of the 2009 ACM Symposium on Applied Computing

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Mainstream object-oriented languages now offer capabilities of generic types with bounded type parameters, but they typically do not provide support for specifying semantic requirements on the type parameters' methods beyond conformance of signatures. Regrettably, even object-oriented assertion languages, such as JML, have nontrivial limitations in this regard. Yet many interesting parameterized types require additional semantic features if they are to function as intended. We illustrate the issues with a case study of project scheduling based on the Project Management Institute's generic characterization of task breakdowns. We consider algebraic techniques for instantiating parametric types in such a way that the semantic requirements expressed by logic-based constraints propagate to the instantiating types. These techniques argue for more general bindings of actual type parameters for the formal ones which do not have the restrictions of current programming languages. We show that types equipped with constraints should be viewed as theories, and the bindings as morphisms of types as theories. We translate these software specifications into theories in the PVS specification language. These proposals lead to conclusions about language features for more general, semantic bindings of the actual for the formal type parameters, at least in the assertion languages.One of the more recent features of mainstream objectoriented programming languages (Eiffel [16], C++ [21], C# [12], Java 5.0 [10]) is mechanisms for higher order abstractions, generic data types that are parameterized by type variables. Some languages also support, in the context of the partial order of the type system, imposition of requirements on the type parameters, so called bounded parametric polymorphism. These features in some cases come with nontrivial difficulties [1]. Object-oriented assertion languages such as JML [13], OCL [22] and Spec# [4] are yet to develop full support for parametric types.The type error detection a compiler can perform must be restricted to decidable questions or decidable approximations of undecidable questions. When a client module uses a service provided by another module, where correct functioning of the client requires certain specific behavior, the compiler cannot determine if the behavior meets the client's needs. It can only report whether the basic structural demands, the existence of methods with certain type signatures, are met.Some generic types, such as ordered pairs, have meaningful operations that are independent of particular features of the type parameters. Often, however, when a generic type imposes type bounds on its parameters, it does so because it requires not only the presence of certain methods, but also that those methods' behaviors satisfy certain semantic conditions. For example, if a module implementing a generic sort expects that the concrete type has a total order, the algorithm will not yield the specified result if the binary relation used is not a total order.Although a compiler cannot enf...

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Section: Extending Jml To Support Types As Theoriesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Algebraic specification techniques for parametric types with logic-based constraints

Briggs

Alagić

2009

Proceedings of the 2009 ACM Symposium on Applied Computing

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“…Our most recent results that apply to XML Schema constraints and the associated transactions are based on Spec# [2]. Reflective constraint management, static and dynamic techniques for enforcing constraints, and transaction verification technology are presented in [3,4,22]. The above techniques were applied to ambients of concurrent and persistent objects in [1].…”

Section: Related Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since the integrity constraints cannot be specified in a declarative fashion, the only option is to enforce them procedurally with nontrivial implications on efficiency and reliability. In a typed constraint-based database technology, the constraints would fit into the type systems of object-oriented languages and they should be integrated with reflective capabilities of those languages [22] so that they can be introspected at run-time. Most importantly, all of that is not sufficient if there is no technology to enforce the constraints, preferably statically, so that expensive recovery procedures will not be required when a transaction violates the constraints at run-time [2,3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Verifiable Object-Oriented Transactions

Alagić

Fazeli

2014

Lecture Notes in Computer Science

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Abstract. Unlike the existing object-oriented and other database technologies, database schemas in the technology developed in this research are equipped with very general integrity constraints specified in a declarative, logic-based fashion. These declarative specifications are expressed in object-oriented assertion languages and they apply to transactions that are implemented in a full-fledged, mainstream object-oriented programming language. The model of transactions is based on more advanced features of object-oriented type systems, the ownership model, and very general constraints. The main distinction in comparison with other database technologies is that transactions can be verified to satisfy the schema integrity constraints. The two main contributions of this paper are object-oriented schemas equipped with integrity constraints and static verification of transactions with respect to the integrity constraints. Solutions to these open problems have been out of reach so far. Furthermore, transaction verification is not only largely static, but it is also automatic, so that the subtleties of the underlying verification technology are hidden from the users. In addition to static verification, the technology offers dynamic enforcement of the integrity constraints when necessary. The overall outcome is a significant increase in data integrity along with run-time efficiency and reliability of transactions.

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“…XVP [27] uses Java 5 annotations to manage assertions in a declarative form. While it improves on JML by representing assertions using reflection, it only defines two annotations (@Constraint and @Pure).…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

A specification language design for the Java Modeling Language (JML) using Java 5 annotations

Taylor

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Reflective Constraint Management for Languages on Virtual Platforms.

Cited by 5 publications

References 10 publications

Algebraic specification techniques for parametric types with logic-based constraints

Algebraic specification techniques for parametric types with logic-based constraints

Verifiable Object-Oriented Transactions

A specification language design for the Java Modeling Language (JML) using Java 5 annotations

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