Support for maintaining object-oriented programs

Abstract

The authors explain how inheritance and dynamic binding make object-oriented programs difficult to maintain, and give a concrete example of the problems that arise. They show that the difficulty lies in the fact that conventional tools are poorly suited for work with object-oriented languages, and argue that semantics-based tools are essential for effective maintenance of object-oriented programs. The authors describe a system developed for working with C++ programs. This system comprises a relational database system for information about programs, and an interactive database interface integrated with a text editor. They describe the system architecture, detail the database relations, provide informal evidence on the system's effectiveness, and compare it to other research with similar goals.<>