Software Seminar

[Thomas Bartold]

THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Computer Science & Engineering Division

Software Seminar

The Object Infrastructure Framework: An Aspect-Oriented Programming System
for Distributed Computing

Dr. Robert Filman
NASA Ames Research Center

Abstract:
Aspect Oriented Programming (AOP) is an emerging technology that allows the
separate expression of different programming concerns while nevertheless
providing mechanisms for weaving these separate concerns together into a
complete program. AOP offers the hope of being able to independently
describe and maintain "ilities" such as reliability, security, quality of
service, and manageability. Advantages of this approach include "ility" code
reuse, easier system evolution, more reliable programs, reducing the demand
for application programmers to become experts in complex "computer science
algorithms," and the ability to modify the behavior of existing run-time
modules.

In this talk I present a basic taxonomy of AOP, and describe our work in
developing the Object Infrastructure Framework (OIF). OIF is a system that
employs AOP techniques to simplify developing distributed applications. Key
features of OIF are the ability to dynamically "inject" independent
behaviors on both sides of the communication path between system components,
novel communication channels among injectors and between such injectors and
the application itself, and a high-level specification language for
expressing the mapping between desired "ilities" and application code.

Biography:
Robert E. Filman is a senior scientist at the Research Institute for
Advanced Computer Science (RIACS) at NASA Ames Research Center, working on
creating frameworks for developing distributed applications. Prior to coming
to NASA, Dr. Filman worked in the research groups of Lockheed Martin
Missiles and Space, Intellicorp and Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, and on the
faculty of the Computer Science Department at Indiana University,
Bloomington. He is Associate Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Internet Computing and
is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Artificial
Intelligence Tools. He is the author (with Daniel P. Friedman) of
Coordinated Computing: Tools and Techniques for Distributed Software
(McGraw-Hill). Dr. Filman received his B. S. (Mathematics), and M.S. and Ph.
D. (Computer Science) from Stanford University.

Friday, October 20, 2000
Time 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Room #1005 EECS