Change-oriented software engineering

Abstract

We propose a first-class change model for Change-Oriented Software Engineering (COSE). Based on an evolution scenario, we identify a lack of support in current Interactive Development Environments (IDEs) to apply COSE. We introduce a set of five extensions to an existing model of first-class changes and describe the desired behaviour of change-oriented IDEs to support COSE. With the help of an evolution scenario, we show why those extensions are required. Finally we describe ChEOPS: a prototypical implementation of a change-oriented IDE on top of VisualWorks and illustrate how it supports the extended first-class change model. ChEOPS is finally used to validate COSE as a solution for the shortcomings of existing IDEs.