Context holders: realizing multiple layer activation mechanisms in a single context-oriented language

Abstract

We propose LamFJ, a calculus for expressing various layer activation mechanisms in context-oriented programming languages. LamFJ extends FeatherweightJava with context holders which are the abstraction of dynamic layer activation. By encoding programs with different layer activation mechanisms into a program manipulating context holders, LamFJ serves as a foundation to reason about interactions between different mechanisms. This paper presents a sketch of the context holders and encodings of existing layer activation mechanisms.