research-article

Variability modules

Authors:

Ferruccio Damiani,

Reiner Hähnle,

Eduard Kamburjan,

Michael Lienhardt,

Luca PaoliniAuthors Info & Claims

Volume 195, Issue C

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2022.111510

Published: 01 January 2023 Publication History

Abstract

A Software Product Line (SPL) is a family of similar programs, called variants, generated from a common artifact base. A Multi SPL (MPL) is a set of interdependent SPLs: each variant can depend on variants from other SPLs. MPLs are challenging to model and to implement efficiently, especially when different variants of the same SPL must coexist and interoperate. We address this challenge by introducing the concept of a variability module (VM), a new language construct. A VM constitutes at the same time a module and an SPL of standard (variability-free), possibly interdependent, modules. Generating a variant of a VM triggers the generation of all variants required to satisfy its dependencies. Consequentially, a set of interdependent VMs represents an MPL that can be compiled into a set of standard modules. We illustrate the VM concept with an example from an industrial modeling scenario and formalize it in a core calculus. We define family-based analyses to check that a VM satisfies certain well-formedness conditions and whether all variants can be generated. Finally, we provide an implementation of VM for the Java-like modeling language ABS, and evaluate it with case studies.

Highlights

•

Extension of the standard concept of module to support multi product lines.

•

Interoperability of different variants of the same product line.

•

Dependencies among different variants reduced to dependencies among standard modules.

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Statically checkable properties.

•

Implemented for the Abstract Behavioral Specification language.

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Cited By

Lienhardt M(2023)PYDOPProceedings of the 27th ACM International Systems and Software Product Line Conference - Volume B10.1145/3579028.3609011(30-33)Online publication date: 28-Aug-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3579028.3609011
Damiani FKamburjan ELienhardt MPaolini L(2023)Deltas for Functional Programs with Algebraic Data TypesProceedings of the 27th ACM International Systems and Software Product Line Conference - Volume A10.1145/3579027.3608977(52-63)Online publication date: 28-Aug-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3579027.3608977

Index Terms

Variability modules
1. Theory of computation

Index terms have been assigned to the content through auto-classification.

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cover image Journal of Systems and Software

Journal of Systems and Software Volume 195, Issue C

Jan 2023

610 pages

ISSN:0164-1212

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Elsevier Science Inc.

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Published: 01 January 2023

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Cited By

Lienhardt M(2023)PYDOPProceedings of the 27th ACM International Systems and Software Product Line Conference - Volume B10.1145/3579028.3609011(30-33)Online publication date: 28-Aug-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3579028.3609011
Damiani FKamburjan ELienhardt MPaolini L(2023)Deltas for Functional Programs with Algebraic Data TypesProceedings of the 27th ACM International Systems and Software Product Line Conference - Volume A10.1145/3579027.3608977(52-63)Online publication date: 28-Aug-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3579027.3608977

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