Abstract: Recent advances in the area of mobile computing and pervasive computing have driven the... more Abstract: Recent advances in the area of mobile computing and pervasive computing have driven the emergence of new challenges. For example, the “Intelligent Environment” or “Smart Environment” has become one of the key research areas in the pervasive computing arena.
Abstract—The operational environments of sensor networks will alter over time, often due to hazar... more Abstract—The operational environments of sensor networks will alter over time, often due to hazardous conditions or fluctuating resource availability; however this important characteristic of sensor networks has yet to be fully addressed by current middleware solutions. In this article, we present a reflective middleware solution for co-ordinated dynamic reconfiguration of middleware behaviour across nodes in a sensor network.
The emergence of applications domains such as pervasive and autonomic computing has increased the... more The emergence of applications domains such as pervasive and autonomic computing has increased the need for customisation and dynamic adaptation of both distributed systems, and the underlying middleware platforms. Two highly complementary technologies have been advocated to meet these challenges, namely: aspect oriented programming (AOP) and reflective middleware.
ABSTRACT In aspect-oriented middleware systems, the aspect modules are typically composed as chai... more ABSTRACT In aspect-oriented middleware systems, the aspect modules are typically composed as chains of aspects within the connectors (or bindings) that join the base software components. However, this approach can lose or hide information about the dependencies between multiple aspects in the chain; this is particularly important when dynamically reconfiguring such a system at runtime.
Abstract. This paper summarises our research on how to use Model-Driven Engineering and Domain Sp... more Abstract. This paper summarises our research on how to use Model-Driven Engineering and Domain Specific Modelling to support a development approach during the life cycle (including design, programming, testing, deployment, and execution) of reflective and adaptive middleware families. We particularly advocate using models to specify and validate runtime and adaptive behaviour. Keywords: Adaptive Systems, Domain Specific Modelling, Model-Driven Engineering, Reflective Middleware.
Abstract Reflection is widely acknowledged as a useful mechanism for facilitating the run-time ad... more Abstract Reflection is widely acknowledged as a useful mechanism for facilitating the run-time adaptation/reconfiguration of software. Often, however, it is also thought to impose intolerably high overheads in performance-critical systems software environments like middleware platforms, operating systems, or programmable routers. In this paper we argue that there are many varieties of reflection (ie many types of'meta-models') and that some of these in fact impose zero or negligible overhead.
Abstract. As peer-to-peer systems are evolving from simplistic application specific overlays to m... more Abstract. As peer-to-peer systems are evolving from simplistic application specific overlays to middleware platforms hosting a range of potential applications it has become evident that increasingly configurable approaches are required to ensure appropriate overlay support is provided for divergent applications. This is exacerbated by the increasing heterogeneity of networked devices expected to host the overlay. Traditional adaptation approaches rely on simplistic design-time isolated fine-tuning of overlay operations.
Abstract The CONNECT European project that started in February 2009 aims at dropping the interope... more Abstract The CONNECT European project that started in February 2009 aims at dropping the interoperability barrier faced by todaypsilas distributed systems. It does so by adopting a revolutionary approach to the seamless networking of digital systems, that is, synthesizing on the fly the connectors via which networked systems communicate. CONNECT then investigates formal foundations for connectors together with associated automated support for learning, reasoning about and adapting the interaction behavior of networked systems.
This paper describes a collaborative workspace tool being developed using SVG and RDF. The approa... more This paper describes a collaborative workspace tool being developed using SVG and RDF. The approach being taken is to regard all the information in a collaborative workspace as an annotation of the workspace that can be represented as RDF triples. Information for display can then be selected by querying these triples. Audit trails of events in the workspace can be replayed by querying the triples. The approach and the current state of implementation work are described.
Adaptability is emerging as a crucial enabling capability for many applications, particularly tho... more Adaptability is emerging as a crucial enabling capability for many applications, particularly those deployed in dynamically changing environments such as environment monitoring, disaster management, and military systems. One of the challenges that these pose to RE is that of complexity and how to handle the requirements arising from different states of the environment, and the requirements for coping when the environment changes.
Interoperability remains a fundamental challenge when connecting heterogeneous systems which enco... more Interoperability remains a fundamental challenge when connecting heterogeneous systems which encounter and spontaneously communicate with one another in pervasive computing environments. This challenge is exasperated by the highly heterogeneous technologies employed by each of the interacting parties, ie, in terms of hardware, operating system, middleware protocols, and application protocols.
Component-based software engineering has recently emerged as a promising solution to the developm... more Component-based software engineering has recently emerged as a promising solution to the development of system-level software. Unfortunately, current approaches are limited to specific platforms and domains. This lack of generality is particularly problematic as it prevents knowledge sharing and generally drives development costs up. In the past, we have developed a generic approach to component-based software engineering for system-level software called OpenCom.
Next generation middleware must support applications in the face of increasing diversity in inter... more Next generation middleware must support applications in the face of increasing diversity in interaction paradigms, end system types and network styles. Therefore, to secure applications, flexible security policies must be configured and indeed reconfigured at runtime. In this paper, we propose an approach combining the openness of reflective middleware with the flexibility of programmable security to meet such demands.
The innate dynamicity and complexity of mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) has resulted in numerous ... more The innate dynamicity and complexity of mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) has resulted in numerous ad-hoc routing protocols being proposed. Furthermore, numerous variants and hybrids continue to be reported in the literature. This diversity appears to be inherent to the field-it seems unlikely that there will ever be a 'one-size-fits-all'solution to the ad-hoc routing problem.
Advances in the middleware paradigm has enabled applications to be integrated together thus enabl... more Advances in the middleware paradigm has enabled applications to be integrated together thus enabling more reliable distributed systems. Although every middleware tries to solve interoperability issues among a given set of applications, nonetheless there still remains interoperability challenges across various middlewares. Interoperability enables diverse systems to work in accordance and extend the scope of services that are provided by individual systems.
Abstract A self-management infrastructure requires a self-representation to model system function... more Abstract A self-management infrastructure requires a self-representation to model system functionality concerns. The model-view-controller design pattern can improve concern separation in a self-representation. Future computing initiatives such as ubiquitous and pervasive computing, large-scale distribution, and on-demand computing will foster unpredictable and complex environments with challenging demands.
Distributed systems are becoming more complex in terms of both the level of heterogeneity encount... more Distributed systems are becoming more complex in terms of both the level of heterogeneity encountered coupled with a high level of dynamism of such systems. Taken together, this makes it very difficult to achieve the crucial property of interoperability that is enabling two arbitrary systems to work together relying only on their declared service specification.
Abstract Reflective middleware provides an effective way to support adaptation in distributed sys... more Abstract Reflective middleware provides an effective way to support adaptation in distributed systems. However, as distributed systems become increasingly complex, certain drawbacks of the reflective middleware approach are becoming evident. In particular, reflective APIs are found to impose a steep learning curve, and to place too much expressive power in the hands of developers. Recently, researchers in the field of Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) have argued that'dynamic aspects' show promise in alleviating these drawbacks.
Abstract The heterogeneous, large-scale and decentralised nature of peer-to-peer systems creates ... more Abstract The heterogeneous, large-scale and decentralised nature of peer-to-peer systems creates significant issues when deploying new functionality and adapting peer behaviour. The ability to autonomously deploy new adaptive functionality is therefore highly beneficial. This paper investigates middleware support for evolving and adapting peers in divergent systems through reflective component based design. This approach allows self-contained functionality to exist in the network as a primary entity.
Abstract Self-adaptation is emerging as a crucial enabling capability for many applications, part... more Abstract Self-adaptation is emerging as a crucial enabling capability for many applications, particularly those deployed in dynamically changing environments. One key challenge posed by dynamically adaptive systems (DASs) is the need to handle changes to the requirements and corresponding behavior of a DAS in response to varying environmental conditions. In this paper we propose a visual model-driven approach that uses the i* modeling language to represent goal models for the DAS requirements.
Abstract: Recent advances in the area of mobile computing and pervasive computing have driven the... more Abstract: Recent advances in the area of mobile computing and pervasive computing have driven the emergence of new challenges. For example, the “Intelligent Environment” or “Smart Environment” has become one of the key research areas in the pervasive computing arena.
Abstract—The operational environments of sensor networks will alter over time, often due to hazar... more Abstract—The operational environments of sensor networks will alter over time, often due to hazardous conditions or fluctuating resource availability; however this important characteristic of sensor networks has yet to be fully addressed by current middleware solutions. In this article, we present a reflective middleware solution for co-ordinated dynamic reconfiguration of middleware behaviour across nodes in a sensor network.
The emergence of applications domains such as pervasive and autonomic computing has increased the... more The emergence of applications domains such as pervasive and autonomic computing has increased the need for customisation and dynamic adaptation of both distributed systems, and the underlying middleware platforms. Two highly complementary technologies have been advocated to meet these challenges, namely: aspect oriented programming (AOP) and reflective middleware.
ABSTRACT In aspect-oriented middleware systems, the aspect modules are typically composed as chai... more ABSTRACT In aspect-oriented middleware systems, the aspect modules are typically composed as chains of aspects within the connectors (or bindings) that join the base software components. However, this approach can lose or hide information about the dependencies between multiple aspects in the chain; this is particularly important when dynamically reconfiguring such a system at runtime.
Abstract. This paper summarises our research on how to use Model-Driven Engineering and Domain Sp... more Abstract. This paper summarises our research on how to use Model-Driven Engineering and Domain Specific Modelling to support a development approach during the life cycle (including design, programming, testing, deployment, and execution) of reflective and adaptive middleware families. We particularly advocate using models to specify and validate runtime and adaptive behaviour. Keywords: Adaptive Systems, Domain Specific Modelling, Model-Driven Engineering, Reflective Middleware.
Abstract Reflection is widely acknowledged as a useful mechanism for facilitating the run-time ad... more Abstract Reflection is widely acknowledged as a useful mechanism for facilitating the run-time adaptation/reconfiguration of software. Often, however, it is also thought to impose intolerably high overheads in performance-critical systems software environments like middleware platforms, operating systems, or programmable routers. In this paper we argue that there are many varieties of reflection (ie many types of'meta-models') and that some of these in fact impose zero or negligible overhead.
Abstract. As peer-to-peer systems are evolving from simplistic application specific overlays to m... more Abstract. As peer-to-peer systems are evolving from simplistic application specific overlays to middleware platforms hosting a range of potential applications it has become evident that increasingly configurable approaches are required to ensure appropriate overlay support is provided for divergent applications. This is exacerbated by the increasing heterogeneity of networked devices expected to host the overlay. Traditional adaptation approaches rely on simplistic design-time isolated fine-tuning of overlay operations.
Abstract The CONNECT European project that started in February 2009 aims at dropping the interope... more Abstract The CONNECT European project that started in February 2009 aims at dropping the interoperability barrier faced by todaypsilas distributed systems. It does so by adopting a revolutionary approach to the seamless networking of digital systems, that is, synthesizing on the fly the connectors via which networked systems communicate. CONNECT then investigates formal foundations for connectors together with associated automated support for learning, reasoning about and adapting the interaction behavior of networked systems.
This paper describes a collaborative workspace tool being developed using SVG and RDF. The approa... more This paper describes a collaborative workspace tool being developed using SVG and RDF. The approach being taken is to regard all the information in a collaborative workspace as an annotation of the workspace that can be represented as RDF triples. Information for display can then be selected by querying these triples. Audit trails of events in the workspace can be replayed by querying the triples. The approach and the current state of implementation work are described.
Adaptability is emerging as a crucial enabling capability for many applications, particularly tho... more Adaptability is emerging as a crucial enabling capability for many applications, particularly those deployed in dynamically changing environments such as environment monitoring, disaster management, and military systems. One of the challenges that these pose to RE is that of complexity and how to handle the requirements arising from different states of the environment, and the requirements for coping when the environment changes.
Interoperability remains a fundamental challenge when connecting heterogeneous systems which enco... more Interoperability remains a fundamental challenge when connecting heterogeneous systems which encounter and spontaneously communicate with one another in pervasive computing environments. This challenge is exasperated by the highly heterogeneous technologies employed by each of the interacting parties, ie, in terms of hardware, operating system, middleware protocols, and application protocols.
Component-based software engineering has recently emerged as a promising solution to the developm... more Component-based software engineering has recently emerged as a promising solution to the development of system-level software. Unfortunately, current approaches are limited to specific platforms and domains. This lack of generality is particularly problematic as it prevents knowledge sharing and generally drives development costs up. In the past, we have developed a generic approach to component-based software engineering for system-level software called OpenCom.
Next generation middleware must support applications in the face of increasing diversity in inter... more Next generation middleware must support applications in the face of increasing diversity in interaction paradigms, end system types and network styles. Therefore, to secure applications, flexible security policies must be configured and indeed reconfigured at runtime. In this paper, we propose an approach combining the openness of reflective middleware with the flexibility of programmable security to meet such demands.
The innate dynamicity and complexity of mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) has resulted in numerous ... more The innate dynamicity and complexity of mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) has resulted in numerous ad-hoc routing protocols being proposed. Furthermore, numerous variants and hybrids continue to be reported in the literature. This diversity appears to be inherent to the field-it seems unlikely that there will ever be a 'one-size-fits-all'solution to the ad-hoc routing problem.
Advances in the middleware paradigm has enabled applications to be integrated together thus enabl... more Advances in the middleware paradigm has enabled applications to be integrated together thus enabling more reliable distributed systems. Although every middleware tries to solve interoperability issues among a given set of applications, nonetheless there still remains interoperability challenges across various middlewares. Interoperability enables diverse systems to work in accordance and extend the scope of services that are provided by individual systems.
Abstract A self-management infrastructure requires a self-representation to model system function... more Abstract A self-management infrastructure requires a self-representation to model system functionality concerns. The model-view-controller design pattern can improve concern separation in a self-representation. Future computing initiatives such as ubiquitous and pervasive computing, large-scale distribution, and on-demand computing will foster unpredictable and complex environments with challenging demands.
Distributed systems are becoming more complex in terms of both the level of heterogeneity encount... more Distributed systems are becoming more complex in terms of both the level of heterogeneity encountered coupled with a high level of dynamism of such systems. Taken together, this makes it very difficult to achieve the crucial property of interoperability that is enabling two arbitrary systems to work together relying only on their declared service specification.
Abstract Reflective middleware provides an effective way to support adaptation in distributed sys... more Abstract Reflective middleware provides an effective way to support adaptation in distributed systems. However, as distributed systems become increasingly complex, certain drawbacks of the reflective middleware approach are becoming evident. In particular, reflective APIs are found to impose a steep learning curve, and to place too much expressive power in the hands of developers. Recently, researchers in the field of Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) have argued that'dynamic aspects' show promise in alleviating these drawbacks.
Abstract The heterogeneous, large-scale and decentralised nature of peer-to-peer systems creates ... more Abstract The heterogeneous, large-scale and decentralised nature of peer-to-peer systems creates significant issues when deploying new functionality and adapting peer behaviour. The ability to autonomously deploy new adaptive functionality is therefore highly beneficial. This paper investigates middleware support for evolving and adapting peers in divergent systems through reflective component based design. This approach allows self-contained functionality to exist in the network as a primary entity.
Abstract Self-adaptation is emerging as a crucial enabling capability for many applications, part... more Abstract Self-adaptation is emerging as a crucial enabling capability for many applications, particularly those deployed in dynamically changing environments. One key challenge posed by dynamically adaptive systems (DASs) is the need to handle changes to the requirements and corresponding behavior of a DAS in response to varying environmental conditions. In this paper we propose a visual model-driven approach that uses the i* modeling language to represent goal models for the DAS requirements.
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Papers by Paul Grace