Using UML-FW, Refactoring, and Unification Rules to Assist Framework Maintenance and Evolution

Abstract:

Although object-oriented software development has experienced the benefits of using
frameworks, a thorough understanding of how to identify, design, implement, and change
them to meet evolving requirement needs is still object of research. Therefore,
framework development is very expensive not only because of the intrinsic difficulty
related to capturing the domain theory but also because of the lack of appropriate
methods and techniques to support framework design and evolution. This paper proposes
the use of the UML-FW profile, together with refactoring and unification rules to assist
framework maintenance and evolution.