A study of software component system evolution : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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Date
2013
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Massey University
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Abstract
There are an estimated 20 million users of the Ubuntu operating system and millions of
users of the Eclipse integrated development environment. Ubuntu and Eclipse systems
are constructed from components, called packages and bundles respectively, and can be
changed by adding or removing components to and from their systems. Over time
these systems will be continually changed to adapt to their software environment,
accommodate new user requirements, x errors and/or prevent errors from occurring
in the future. This continual change is called the component system evolution process.
Using a developed simulation this thesis investigates the reduction of negative e ects
during the component system evolution process. The primary negative effects that
are focused on are the amount of change made to the system, and the out-of-dateness
of the system. The simulation was created by modelling the evolution of component
systems and executed using a developed implementation. Various experiments that
simulate an Ubuntu system evolving over a year were conducted, and the change and
out-of-dateness of these systems measured. These experiments resulted in two novel
approaches that can be used to reduce change and out-of-dateness during evolution.
Therefore, this research could be used to reduce negative effects on millions of evolving
component systems.
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Keywords
Computer operating systems, Ubuntu operating system, Eclipse software development environment, Component system evolution, Component-based software