Ontological Representations of Software Patterns

TL;DR

This paper advocates for using ontological representations to improve the automation, organization, and explanation of software patterns, thereby enhancing their role in software development.

Contribution

It proposes a novel approach to represent software patterns ontologically, addressing limitations of existing representations for automation and retrieval.

Findings

Existing pattern representations are inadequate for automation.

Ontological representations can facilitate pattern organization and retrieval.

The paper provides a conceptual framework based on semantic web principles.

Abstract

This paper is based on and advocates the trend in software engineering of extending the use of software patterns as means of structuring solutions to software development problems (be they motivated by best practice or by company interests and policies). The paper argues that, on the one hand, this development requires tools for automatic organisation, retrieval and explanation of software patterns. On the other hand, that the existence of such tools itself will facilitate the further development and employment of patterns in the software development process. The paper analyses existing pattern representations and concludes that they are inadequate for the kind of automation intended here. Adopting a standpoint similar to that taken in the semantic web, the paper proposes that feasible solutions can be built on the basis of ontological representations.