Uma ferramenta para análise automática de modelos de características de linhas de produtos de software sensível ao contexto

Abstract

Software product lines are a way to maximize software reuse once it provides mass software customization. Software product lines (SPLs) have been also used to support contextaware application’s development where adaptability at runtime is an important issue. In this case, SPLs are known as Context-aware software product lines. Context-aware software product line (CASPL) success depends on the modelling of their features and relevant context. However, a manual process to build and configure these models can add several errors such as replicated features, loops, and dead and false optional features. Because of this, there is a need of techniques to verify the model consistency. In the context-aware application domain, the consistency verification plays an important role, since application in this domain use context to both provide services and self-adaptation, when it is needed. In this sense, context-triggered adaptations may lead the application to undesired state. Moreover, in some cases, the statement that a contex-triggered adaptation is undesired only can be made at runtime, because the error is conditioned to the current product configuration. Additionally, applications in this domain are submitted to large volumes of contextual changes, which imply that manual verification is virtually not viable. So, it is interesting to do consistency verification in a automated way such that a computational entity may execute these operations. As there is few automated support for these proccesses, the objective of this work is to propose the complete automation of these proccesses with a software tool, called FixTure, that does consistency verification of feature diagrams during their development and product configuration. FixTure tool also supports contextual changes simulation during the lifecycle of a CASPL application in order to identify inconsistencies that can happen at runtime.