Object-oriented Constraint Programming Research Articles

A Formal Model of Conformity Testing of Inheritance for Object Oriented Constraint Programming

This paper presents an approach for extending the constraint model defined for conformity testing of a given method of class to its overriding method in subclass using inheritance principle. The main objective of the proposed work is to find the relationship between the test model of an overriding method and its overridden method using the constraint propagation. Our approach shows that the test cases developed for testing an original method can be used for testing its overriding method in a subclass and then the number of test cases can be reduced considerably. The implementation of this approach is based on a random generation of test data and analysis by formal proof.

A Formal Model of Conformity and Security Testing of Inheritance for Object Oriented Constraint Programming

This paper presents an approach for extending the constraint model defined for conformity testing of a given method of class to its overriding method in subclass using inheritance principle. The first objective of the proposed work is to find the relationship between the test model of an overriding method and its overridden method using the constraint propagation. In this context the approach shows that the test cases developed for testing an original method can be used for testing its overriding method in a subclass and then the number of test cases can be reduced considerably. The second objective is the use of invalid data which do not satisfy the precondition constraint and induce valid output values for introducing a new concept of test called secure testing. The implementation of this approach is based on a random generation of test data and analysis by formal proof.

On complementary principles of object-oriented constraint programming

The paper is devoted to the implementation of the paradigm of the object-oriented constraint programming (OOCP), which combines complementary ideas and principles of the object-oriented programming (OOP) and constraint logical programming (CLP). Although the idea looks attractive and there have been attempts to implement it with the use of logical and functional languages, its future outline is still not clear. In the paper, a survey of the existing technologies of the constraint programming is given, and a new systematic approach to the implementation of the object-oriented constraint programming based on the use of declarative data modeling languages is discussed. The advantages of the approach related to the expressiveness and generality of the constraint problem declarations are demonstrated on the example of the classical mathematical queen problem. A general algorithmic strategy of solving the constraint problems is also discussed.

Implementation of resource constraints in ILOG SCHEDULE: a library for the development of constraint-based scheduling systems

It has been argued that the use of constraint-based techniques and tools enables the implementation of precise, flexible, efficient and extensible scheduling systems; precise and flexible as the system can take into account any constraint expressible in the constraint language; efficient in as much as highly optimised constraint propagation procedures are now available; extensible as the consideration of a new type of constraint may require (especially in an object-oriented framework) only an extension to the constraint system or, in the worst case, the implementation of additional decision-making modules (without needs for modification of the existing code). The paper presents ILOG SCHEDULE, a C++ library enabling the representation of a wide collection of scheduling constraints in terms of ‘resources’ and ‘activities’. ILOG SCHEDULE is based on SOLVER, the generic software tool for object-oriented constraint programming from ILOG. SOLVER variables and constraints can be accessed from SCHEDULE activities and resources. As a result, SCHEDULE users can make use of SOLVER to represent specific constraints, and implement and combine the specific problem-solving strategies that are the most appropriate for the scheduling application under consideration. It is hoped—and expected—that object-oriented constraint programming tools like SCHEDULE will enable the industry to make decisive stepstoward the implementation of ‘state-of-the-art’ highly flexible, constraint-based scheduling applications.

ConstraintLisp

ConstraintLisp is an object-oriented constraint programming language. It is based on the constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) model in Artificial Intelligence and the object-oriented technology. This integration provides both the declarative representation and efficiency of constraint solving of constraint programming, and the powerful problem modelling capability, maintainability, reusability and extensibility of the object-oriented technology. ConstraintLisp is aimed at providing practical solutions to real life constrained search problems such as scheduling, resource allocation, etc. It is also designed and implemented in an object-oriented approach.

Constraint technology for user-interface construction in ThingLab II

ThingLab II is an object-oriented constraint programming system designed specifically for interactive user interface construction and implemented in Smalltalk-80 For constraints to be effective in building user interfaces, they must not impede the responsiveness of the user interface either at run time or during construction. The necessary speed is attained in ThingLab II by making judicious tradeoffs between compilation and interpretation, and by using a fast, incremental algorithm for constraint satisfaction. The resulting system allows user interface components to be assembled, tested, and modified expediently while maintaining interactive responsiveness.