A Framework for Evaluating Extensibility in an Aspect-oriented Software System and its Validation

摘要

Background: Modern day software applications involve management and processing ofhuge amount of data, originating from a variety of sources such as Internet of Things. Such datamay be dynamic, homogenous or heterogeneous. Such data is processed by the users according totheir own specific needs through programming code. The coding tool should be such that it is extensibleand appropriate to manage such data. The aspect-oriented approach of programming canbe a good option to handle such data for extracting useful and timely information. Aspect-orientedapproach can contribute positively in extending the software design and code dynamically.Objective: The aim of the research is to provide a formal framework for evaluating the extensibilityof the software.Method: In order to design a framework for extensibility, a maintainability model is used. By applyingthe maintainability model, a novel framework for evaluating the extensibility characteristicis exhibited. The proposed framework is tested for a set of aspect-based software. Also, validationof the proposed extensibility metric is done by applying Karl Pearson Product Moment Correlationmethod. Finally, a comparison is made between software built using object-oriented approach andaspect-oriented approach.Results: Results suggest that novel framework for extensibility is a valid framework. Further, thefindings reveal a strong positive relation between the selected attributes and extensibility. Also, aftercomparison it was found that, software built using aspect-oriented approach is more extensiblethan the one built using object-oriented approach.Conclusion: The experimental results show that the level of sub-attributes can contribute effectivelyto determine the level of extensibility, with design size being the top contributor, followed bycomplexity, coupling and cohesion. And the proposed framework is found to help software developersin selecting software that can be easily extensible.