Academic Journal

rbFeatures: Feature-oriented programming with Ruby

Bibliographic Details
Title: rbFeatures: Feature-oriented programming with Ruby
Authors: Günther, Sebastian sebastian.guenther@ovgu.de, Sunkle, Sagar sagar.sunkle@ovgu.de
Source: Science of Computer Programming. Mar2012, Vol. 77 Issue 3, p152-173. 22p.
Subject Terms: *Ruby (Computer program language), *Feature extraction, *Computer programming, *Constraint satisfaction, *Semantics, *Programming languages
Abstract: Abstract: Features are pieces of core functionality of a program that is relevant to particular stakeholders. Features pose dependencies and constraints among each other. These dependencies and constraints describe the possible number of variants of the program: A valid feature configuration generates a specific variant with unique behavior. Feature-Oriented Programming is used to implement features as program units. This paper introduces rbFeatures, a feature-oriented programming language implemented on top of the dynamic programming language Ruby. With rbFeatures, programmers use software product lines, variants, and features as first-class entities. This allows several runtime reflection and modification capabilities, including the extension of the product line with new features and the provision of multiple variants. The paper gives a broad overview to the implementation and application of rbFeatures. We explain how features as first-class entities are designed and implemented, and discuss how the semantics of features are carefully added to Ruby programs. We show two case studies: The expression product line, a common example in feature-oriented programming, and a web application. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
Database: Academic Search Index
Description
ISSN:01676423
DOI:10.1016/j.scico.2010.12.007