SEL Ada reuse analysis and representations

Abstract

Overall, it was revealed that the pattern of Ada reuse has evolved from initial reuse of utility components into reuse of generalized application architectures. Utility components were both domain-independent utilities, such as queues and stacks, and domain-specific utilities, such as those that implement spacecraft orbit and attitude mathematical functions and physics or astronomical models. The level of reuse was significantly increased with the development of a generalized telemetry simulator architecture. The use of Ada generics significantly increased the level of verbatum reuse, which is due to the ability, using Ada generics, to parameterize the aspects of design that are configurable during reuse. A key factor in implementing generalized architectures was the ability to use generic subprogram parameters to tailor parts of the algorithm embedded within the architecture. The use of object oriented design (in which objects model real world entities) significantly improved the modularity for reuse. Encapsulating into packages the data and operations associated with common real world entities creates natural building blocks for reuse.