From Research to Startup: Experiences in Interoperability

1
From Research to Startup Experiences in
Interoperability

• Arie van Deursen
• Leon Moonen
• 23 January 2001

2
The ASFSDF Experience
Bergstra, Heering, Klint Alg. Specification, 1989

• Describe language
• SDF abstract concrete syntax
• ASF language processors
• Generate tools
• Parser, pretty printer, structure editor
• Type checker, evaluator, transformer
• Meta-Environment

Van Deursen, Heering, Klint Language Prototyping,
1996
Klint, TOSEM 1993
3
(Meta) Environment Architecture

• Heterogeneous tools

• Annotated terms

• ToolBus coordination architecture

Bergstra, Klint, SCP, 1998
4
Independent Tools

• Size matters
• use sharing to deflate large data
• Format wars hard to avoid
• AsFix 1, 2, and 1.5.
• (AsFix local AST representation format)
• Installing independent tools
• requires appropriate bundling

5
Agreeing on Grammars

• Abstract syntax schema.
• Tools for one language share grammar?
• Different tasks require different variations
• Evolving grammars implies divergence
• Our best attempt a grammar base
• Set of reference grammars.
• Maturity levels indicate stability/immutability

www.program-transformation.org/xt/
6
Talking to Industry

• Discuss maintenance problems with
• ABN AMRO Bank
• Software house Roccade
• Use language technology as basis for reverse and
  re-engineering research
• Goal
• Strengthen generic technology
• Start with Cobol instantiation

7
Dealing with Data Flow

• Many data flow problems reimplemented for
  different languages
• Dhal Framework
• map languages to common representation
• variable definitions and uses
• control flow (structured unstructured)
• framework performs control flow normalization
• generic data flow solutions on Dhal

Re-use DFA library
Multi-language systems
8
Object Identification
9
Object Identification

• Tools used SDF, jasfix, grok, MySQL, concept,
  dot, Tcl/Tk
• Wired by perl/make
• Pragmatic, fine for research

10
Object Identification

• Cobol Grammar
• Reused modified
• Other tools out of sync

11
Object Identification
ICSE99, IWPC2000
12
Spinning Off

• Software Improvement Group (SIG)
• Documentation Generation
• Program Transformation
• Strategic Consultancy
• Mission
• Help companies with their legacy problems
• Transfer of CWI reengineering technology
• Employees 2000, 2001, 2002 4, 8, 16

13
DocGen
ICSM 1999, WCRE 2000

• Analyze Cobol system and redocument it using
  hypertext and graphs.
• Operational characteristics
• Processing 50.000.000 lines of code
• ASP operate via Internet
• On-site installation
• No bugs please

14
DocGen Architecture
Mainframe
Cobol Programs
DocGen
Analyzer
SQL
Documentation Server
Page Request
Documentation
Clients
15
Analysis Interoperability
Mainframe

• Source key properties
• Island grammars
• Use 3d party parser?

Cobol Programs
DocGen
Analyzer
SQL
Documentation Server
Page Request
Documentation
Clients
16
Query/view Interoperability
Mainframe
Cobol Programs
DocGen
Analyzer
SQL
Documentation Server
Page Request
Metric tools Graph visualization Clustering tools
Documentation
Clients
17
The DocGen Data Model

• call
• comments
• controlflow
• copy
• copyrecord
• created

• sourceInfo
• source
• subsystems
• summaries
• words

entities flatfileInfo flatfileOps flatFileRecords
parameters

• Evolve data model as we get along

18
Data Model Conversion

• Customer request
• Reuse DocGen data for other tool set
• Extend DocGen with data from this tool set
• Exchange through XML
• Planned approach
• Describe source and target model
• Generate reader visitor for source data
• Refine visitor to construct target data

19
Presentation

• Describe structure of pages
• Using a grammar
• JJForester generates Java classes visitors
• Composing a page
• Construct abstract structure
• Use visitor to emit HTML
• (You want XML? Specialize visitor)

20
Summary Experience Report

• ToolBus-based cooperation
• Grammar-based data exchange
• Collect reference grammars
• Benefit from code generation
• DHAL data flow framework
• DocGen Cobol data model
• Open up tools with jdbc, http, JavaDoc

21
Discussion (I)

• Systematic interoperability is not for free
• Opening up tools and adhering to standards takes
  effort
• Standards may evolve
• What is the reward?
• Who gets the reward?
• Start with bilateral cooperations

22
Discussion (II)

• Encourage explicit schemas
• Collect and discuss the schemas we use
• Distribute schemas (Susans zoo)
• Sooner or later they may get reused, or even
  refactored into a reference schema.
• Strengthen communication
• Use on line forum a la wiki?
• (lightweight collaborative web discussion forum)