Reusable software component retrieval via normalized algebraic specifications.

246 Pages·5.9 MB·en_US

by  Steigerwald, Robert Allen.;LuQi.

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
Monterey, California
DISSERTATION
REUSABLE SOFTWARE COMPONENT RETRIEVAL
VIA
NORMALIZED ALGEBRAIC SPECIFICATIONS
by
ROBERT ALLEN STEIGERWALD
December, 1991
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Luqi
Approved for public release; distribution unlimited
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7. COSATI CODES 18. SUBJECTTERMS (Continueonreverseifnecessaryandidentifybyblocknumber)
Reusability, Reusable Software Components, Component Retrieva
FIELD GROUP SUB-GROUP
Algebraic Specifications, Rapid Prototyping, Computer Aided Prototypir
9. ABSTRACT(Continueonreverseifnecessaryandidentifybyblocknumber)
ifforts in the software engineering community to reuse code are hampered by a lack oftools. Reusability is particularlyben
icialinarapidprototypingenvironment. Rapidprototyping withautomated reusable softwarecomponent retrievalis asoftwa
levelopmentmethodto rapidlyconstructand adaptsoftware,validate and refinerequirements, andcheckthe consistencyofpr
wsed designs. This dissertationdescribes atool used withinthe ComputerAided Prototyping System (CAPS), developed attl
^avalPostgraduate School,which retrieves reusablecomponents from a softwarebaseusingaformal specificationas the sean
:ey. The query specification that represents adesign requirement iscompared to formal specificationsofAdareusablesoftwa
components stored in an object-oriented database management system. A syntactic search compares specification interface
dentifying reusable candidates based on types ofparameters. The semantic search rank orders a set ofcandidate componer
)ased on semantic similarity to the query. The method, called query by consistency, compares terms that are reduced inthe a
oms ofeach specification. Specifications are normalized to facilitate the matchingbetween query specifications and reusab
component specifications in the retrieval. A formal proof verifies that query by consistency can retrieve components guara
eed to meet specified requirements.
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Luqi [phone]
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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited
REUSABLE SOFTWARE COMPONENTRETRIEVAL
VIANORMALIZEDALGEBRAIC SPECIFICATIONS
by
Robert Allen Steigerwald
Captain, United States Air Force
B.S., United States Air Force Academy, 1981
M.S., University of Illinois, 1985
M.B.A., Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1986
Submitted in partial fulfillment ofthe
requirements for the degree of
DOCTOROFPfflLOSOPHYIN COMPUTERSCIENCE
from the
NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
December 1991
ABSTRACT
Efforts in the software engineering community to reuse code are hampered by a lack
of tools. Reusability is particularly beneficial in a rapid prototyping environment. Rapid
prototyping with automated reusable software component retrieval is a software
development method to rapidly construct and adapt software, validate and refine
requirements, and check the consistency of proposed designs. This dissertation describes
a tool used within the Computer Aided Prototyping System (CAPS), developed at the Naval
Postgraduate School, which retrieves reusable components from a software base using a
formal specification as the search key. The query specification that represents a design
requirement is compared to formal specifications of Ada reusable software components
stored in an object-oriented database management system. A syntactic search compares
specification interfaces, identifying reusable candidates based on types of parameters.
The semantic search rank orders a set of candidate components based on semantic
similarity to the query. The method, called query by consistency, compares terms that are
reduced in the axioms ofeach specification. Specifications are normalized to facilitate the
matching between query specifications and reusable component specifications in the
retrieval. A formal proof verifies that query by consistency can retrieve components
guaranteed to meet specified requirements.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
I. 1
A. THE NEED FOR A RETRIEVAL MECHANISM 1
CONTRIBUTION
B. 2
C. ORGANIZATION OF CHAPTERS 2
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND AND PREVIOUS RESEARCH
II. 3
A. INTRODUCTION 3
REUSABLE SOFTWARE COMPONENTS
B. 3
1 Definition 3
2. Advantages of Code Reuse 3
C. INFORMATION RETRIEVAL 4
1. Representation and Search 4
2. Measures of Performance 5
D APPROACHES TO RETRIEVING REUSABLE COMPONENTS 6
.
1. Browsers 6
2. Informal Specifications 7
a. Keyword Search 7
b. Multi-attribute Search 8
c Natural Language Interfaces 8
3 Formal Specifications 8
a. Types of Formal Specifications 8
b. Advantages and Disadvantages 9
E SYSTEMS AND TOOLS SUPPORTING CODE REUSE 10
.
1. Draco 10
RAPID
2. 11
3. Proto 12
4. The Reusable Software Library 12
ROPE
5. 13
6. The Programmer's Apprentice 13
7. Common Ada Missile Packages (CAMP) 14
8. Object-Oriented Systems 16
9 Operation Support System 16
IV