API Protocol Compliance in Object-Oriented Software

reportActive / Technical Report | Accession Number: ADA501766 | Open PDF

Abstract:

Modern software development is highly reliant on reusable APIs. APIs often define usage protocols that API clients must follow in order for code implementing the API to work correctly. Loosely speaking, API protocols define legal sequences of method calls on objects. In this work, protocols are defined based on typestates Strom and Yemini, 1986 DeLine and Fahndrich, 2004b. Typestates leverage the familiar intuition of abstract state machines to define usage protocols. The goal of this work is to give developers comprehensive help in defining and following API protocols in object-oriented software. Two key technical contributions enable the proposed approach 1 Object state spaces are defined with hierarchical state refinements. Hierarchical state spaces make specifications more succinct, elegantly deal with subtyping, express uncertainty, and enable more precise reasoning about aliasing. 2 A novel abstraction, called access permissions, combines typestate and aliasing information. Access permissions capture developers design intent regarding API protocols and enable sound modular verification of API protocol compliance while allowing a great deal of flexibility in aliasing objects.

Author(s):
Bierhoff, Kevin
Author Organization(s):
CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIV PITTSBURGH PA SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
Descriptive Note:
Doctoral thesis
Supplementary Note:
Supported in part by DARPA under contract HR0011-07-1-0019 and Army Research Office under contract DAAD19-02-1-0389.
Pagination:
0159

Security Markings

DOCUMENT & CONTEXTUAL SUMMARY

Distribution:
Approved For Public Release
Distribution Statement:
Approved For Public Release; Distribution Is Unlimited.

RECORD

Collection: TR
Identifying Numbers
Report Number(s):
CMU-ISR-09-108
Contract/Grant Number(s):
CCF-0811592, CCF-0546550
Monitor Series:
NSF
 Subject Terms
Joint Capability Areas:
JCA_6_Net Centric; JCA_6.1.3_Switching and Routing; JCA_6.1_Information Transport; JCA_5_Command and Control; JCA_5.3_Planning; JCA_5.5_Direct; JCA_8_Building Partnerships; JCA_8.1_Communicate; JCA_8.1.3_Influence Adversary and Competitor Audiences; JCA_5.5.1_Communicate Intent and Guidance; JCA_1_Force Support; JCA_5.3.4_Develop Courses of Action; JCA_5.3.5_Analyze Courses of Action; JCA_1.3_Human Capital Management; JCA_1.3.2_Personnel Management; JCA_5.4_Decide; JCA_5.4.5_Intuit; JCA_1.2.5_Lessons Learned; JCA_4.6_Engineering; JCA_1.2_Force Preparation; JCA_1.2.6_Concepts
Modernization Areas:
Fully Networked C3; Cyber
Communities of Interest:
C4I
Descriptor(s):
*OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMING, *COMMUNICATIONS PROTOCOLS, THESES, COMPUTER PROGRAMS, HIERARCHIES
Field(s)/Group(s):
Computer Programming and Software, Computer Systems Management and Standards
Keyword(s):
TYPESTATES, API(AUTOMATED PROTOCOL INTERFACE)
Report Date:
2009 Apr 23
Creation Date:
2009 Jul 29