Self managed adaptability with wrappings

Abstract

In this paper, we offer an approach to software evolvability based on our wrapping infrastructure for integration in constructed complex systems. We believe that the self-modeling systems that we have built using wrappings may be able to manage their own evolution to some extent. In a wrapping-based system, the design decisions are visible in the resource definitions, with the associated context assumptions, so it is much easier to change them. We expect such a system to build and examine models of its environment, and its behavior in the environment, to check them against the specifications that define the assumptions about the use of the system, so it can call for help when they are violated. We also think we can build the system to make the changes itself in some cases. In particular, there is a class of system change causes that are known to the original system designers (usually based on uncertainties about the environment or the current state of hardware components), and the system can be built with enough information to react to those changes accordingly.