DiscoTect: A System for Discovering the Architectures of Running Programs using Colored Petri Nets

Abstract

One of the challenging problems for software developers is guaranteeing that a system as built is consistent with its architectural design. In this paper we describe a technique that uses run time observations about an executing system to construct an architectural view of the system. In this technique we develop mappings that exploit regularities in system implementation and architectural style. These mappings describe how low-level system events can be interpreted as more abstract architectural operations, and are formally defined using Colored Petri Nets. In this paper we describe a system, called DiscoTect, that uses these mappings, and we introduce the DiscoSTEP mapping language and its formal definition. Two case studies showing the application of DiscoTect suggest that the tool is practical to apply to legacy systems and can dynamically verify conformance to a pre-existing architectural specification.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2006
Accession Number
ADA456147

Entities

People

  • Bradley Schmerl
  • David Garlan
  • Hong Yan
  • Jonathan Erik Aldrich
  • Rick Kazman

Organizations

  • Carnegie Mellon University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Case Studies
  • Computer Programming
  • Computer Programs
  • Computer Science
  • Computers
  • Construction
  • Engineering
  • Language
  • Observation
  • Petri Nets
  • Semantics
  • Simulations
  • Software Design
  • Software Development
  • Specifications
  • Standards

Fields of Study

  • Computer science
  • Engineering

Readers

  • Database Systems and Applications
  • Mathematical Modeling and Probability Theory.