A framework for detecting interface violations in component-based software

• Published in: Proceedings. Fifth International Conference on Software Reuse (Cat. No.98TB100203) pp. 46 - 55
• Main Authors: Edwards, S.H., Shakir, G., Sitaraman, M., Weide, B.W., Hollingsworth, J.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 1998
• Subjects: Contracts; Formal specifications
• ISBN: 9780818683770; 0818683775
• ISSN: 1085-9098
• DOI: 10.1109/ICSR.1998.685729

Two kinds of interface contract violations can occur in component based software: a client component may fail to satisfy a requirement of a component it is using, or a component implementation may fail to fulfil its obligations to the client. The paper proposes a systematic approach for detecting both kinds of violations, so that violation detection is not hard coded into base level components, but is "layered" on top of them, and so that it can be turned "on" or "off" selectively for one or more components, with practically no change to executable code (limiting changes to a few declarations). Among the salient features of this approach are its use of formal specifications, the ability to handle parameterized (i.e., generic, or template) components, and the automatic generation of routine aspects of violation detection. We have designed, built, and experimented with a generator of checking components for C++ templates.