Software evolution through intentional classifications
Kim Mens, Tom Mens · DIAL (Catholic University of Leuven) · 2002
Maintaining and evolving large software systems is hard. One of the main underlying causes is that existing modularisation mechanisms are inadequate to handle cross-cutting concerns. We propose intensional software classifications as an intuitive, lightweight and non-intrusive means of modelling cross-cutting concerns. They increase our ability to understand, modularise and browse the implementation by grouping together source-code entities that address the same concern. In addition, the model supports the declaration, verification and enforcement of relations among intentional classifications. As such,software evolution is facilitated by providing the ability to detect invalidation of important intentional relationships among concerns when the software is modified.