Abstract

There are known classes of software systems that can benefit from dynamic software evolution, including 24x7 systems that require on-line upgrades and adaptive systems that need to adapt to frequent changes in their execution environment . This paper investigates the use of dynamic software architectures and architectural reflection in building adaptive systems. We introduce the K-Component model and its architecture meta-model for building a dynamic software architecture. We address the issues of the integrity and safety of dynamic software evolution by modelling dynamic reconfiguration as graph transformations on a software architecture, and cleanly separate adaptation-specific code from functional code by encapsulating it in reflective programs called adaptation contracts. The paper also introduces the prototype implementation of our K-Component model.

Citations