Objects,XML and databases

The 16th Annual ACM Conference on Object-Oriented Programming Systems, Languages, and Applications (OOPSLA) was held in Tampa Bay, Florida in October 2001. This special issue of Information and Software Technology includes selected papers from the Workshop on Objects, XML and databases that was held at the conference on Sunday and Monday, 14 and 15 October.     

Static and Dynamic Slicing of Constraint Logic Programs

Slicing is a program analysis technique originally developed for imperative languages. It facilitates understanding of data flow and debugging.This paper discusses slicing of Constraint Logic Programs. Constraint Logic Programming (CLP) is an emerging software technology with a growing number of applications. Data flow in constraint programs is not explicit, and for this reason the concepts of slice and the slicing techniques of imperative languages are not directly applicable.This paper formulates declarative notions of slice suitable for CLP. They provide a basis for defining slicing techniques (both dynamic and static) based on variable sharing. The techniques are further extended by using groundness information.A prototype dynamic slicer of CLP programs implementing the presented ideas is briefly described together with the results of some slicing experiments.     

Reliable Agent Communication — A pragmatic perspective

It is well recognized that Agent Communication Languages (ACL’s) are critical elements of Multi-Agent Systems and a key to their successful application in commerce and industry. The established field ofprotocol engineering, which concerns itself with how to specify machine communication languages and protocols, verify their properties and validate implementations thereof, has developed powerful, theoretical and practical techniques for doing so, and a mature understanding of the essential requirements that such specifications should meet. Regrettably, this body of knowledge and practice appears to have had little influence on recently proposed ACL standards. For example, the latest ACL specifications proposed by the Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents (FIPA) are a confusing mix of different formal and informal specification techniques whose net result is ambiguous, inconsistent and under-specified. Allowances must be made, as these are still draft specifications, but rather than providing a verified foundation for reliable communication between heterogeneous agents, they run the risk of leading to unreliable or incompatible implementations, or of being ignored in favour of more pragmatic and robust approaches. In this paper, we propose a set of basic requirements which an ACL specification should meet, describe how the FIFA ACL measures up against these, and contrast its features with those of a small ACL which was designed with reliability and ease of verification as prime objectives. David Kinny: He is a Senior Research Fellow in the Intelligent Agent Laboratory of the Departments of Information Systems and Computer Science at the University of Melbourne, where he obtained his B. Sc. (Hons) in Computer Science in 1991. He then became Research Manager at the Australian Artificial Intelligence Institute, where he designed several influential advanced agent technologies including the dMARS system. His research focus is on Agent Architectures, Agent Communication Languages, and formal semantics for Agent Programming Languages. He is the author of 11 research papers on Software Agents, has served on the program and steering committees of several agent conferences, and is moderator of the Usenet newsgroup <compai>.     

The role of standards

The Data Base Systems Study Group of Accredited Standards Committee X3 has initiated efforts that will lead to an eventual international standard in object-oriented data base systems. This work will require the coordination of current X3 committees H2 Data Languages and H4 Information Resource Management Dictionary within X3 as well as coordination with other standards development committees outside X3 but included in the ANSI interface with ISO through the JTCI TAG.     

HoneyGadget: A Deception Based Approach for Detecting Code Reuse Attacks

Information Systems Frontiers - Code reuse attacks such as Return-Oriented Programming (ROP) and Jump-Oriented Programming (JOP) are the prevalent attack techniques which reuse code snippets named...     

So Many Languages, So Little Time

What's up and coming in the programming language arena? A rudimentary analysis of the 200+ sessions' titles and abstracts at OOPSLA 07 (22nd Int'l Conf. Object-Oriented Programming, Systems, Languages, and Applications) provides a rough idea of what's happening with object-oriented, functional, dynamic, and domain-specific languages.     

对象关系数据库管理系统体系结构的研究

In last years, with the Object-Oriented Programming popular and the field of database application extend-ed,many DBMS manufacturers integrate the object model into traditional Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMSs)one after another ,in order to meet the needs for complex engineering applications. This paper firstly givesa total remark on the reason for the prevalence of the Object-Relational Database Systems (ORDBMs)and on the ben-efit of ORDBMSs comparing with RDBMSs and Object Oriented Database Management Systems(OODBMSs) ,then in-troduces an approach for ORDBMS architecture which integrates the Java class library into ORDBMS metadata repos-itory.     

A GEP-based spatial decision support system for multisite land use allocation

Multisite Land Use Allocation Problem (MLUA) refers to the problem of allocating more than one land use type in an area. MLUA problem is one of the truly NP Complete (combinatorial optimization) problems. To cope with this type of problems, intelligent techniques such as genetic algorithms, and simulated annealing, have been used. Research in the area of Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS) for resource allocation issues, a new scientific area of information system applications developed to support semi-structured or unstructured spatial decisions, has recently generated attention for integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). In this paper we demonstrate how GIS can be integrated with Gene Expression Programming (GEP), a recently developed AI approach, for solving MLUA problems. The feasibility of the proposed approach in solving MLUA problems was checked using a fictive case study. The results indicated that the proposed approach gives good and satisfactory results.     

数据流管理技术

最近,人们已经广泛认识到：在某些新的应用领域中,把数据看作瞬时的数据流比看作持久的关系更为适合。本文首先分析了传统数据库管理系统处理数据流的局限性,然后分析了三个典型的数据流管理系统的基本实现技术,讨论了当前数据流管理技术的研究现状和今后的研究方向,最后,给出了一个数据流管理原型系统的体系结构。     

Exact Schema Theory and Markov Chain Models for Genetic Programming and Variable-length Genetic Algorithms with Homologous Crossover

Genetic Programming (GP) homologous crossovers are a group of operators, including GP one-point crossover and GP uniform crossover, where the offspring are created preserving the position of the genetic material taken from the parents. In this paper we present an exact schema theory for GP and variable-length Genetic Algorithms (GAs) which is applicable to this class of operators. The theory is based on the concepts of GP crossover masks and GP recombination distributions that are generalisations of the corresponding notions used in GA theory and in population genetics, as well as the notions of hyperschema and node reference systems, which are specifically required when dealing with variable size representations.In this paper we also present a Markov chain model for GP and variable-length GAs with homologous crossover. We obtain this result by using the core of Vose's model for GAs in conjunction with the GP schema theory just described. The model is then specialised for the case of GP operating on 0/1 trees: a tree-like generalisation of the concept of binary string. For these, symmetries exist that can be exploited to obtain further simplifications.In the absence of mutation, the Markov chain model presented here generalises Vose's GA model to GP and variable-length GAs. Likewise, our schema theory generalises and refines a variety of previous results in GP and GA theory.     

Infinitary rewriting: meta-theory and convergence

When infinitary rewriting was introduced by Kaplan et al. (Principles of Programming Languages, ACM, New York, pp. 250–259, 1989) at the beginning of the 1990s, its term universe was explained as the metric completion of a metric on finite terms. The motivation for this connection to topology was that it allowed to import other well-studied notions from metric spaces, in particular the notion of convergence as a replacement for normalisation. This paper generalises the approach by parameterising it with a term metric, and applying the process of metric completion not only to terms but also to operations on and relations between terms. The resulting meta-theory is studied, leading to a revised notion of infinitary rewrite system. For these systems a method is devised to prove their convergence.     

Design and implementation of a CIM information system

Information integration is vital for keeping manufacturing operations competitive. A case study approach has been adopted to better understand the role of informatio in integrated manufacturing. Information is now considered a corporate asset. The creation, processing, movement and security of information is therefore as important as the products/services of an enterprise. The case studies have helped in identifying the requirements and issues involved in developing an information system and supporting software framework for a manufacturing enterprise. This paper deseribes a case study dealing with the integrated manufacture of optical fiber products. A phased development and implementation approach was adopted where a small, manageable slice of the system is considered for the case study followed by functional modeling (IDEFO) and data flow modeling (data flow diagrams). This identifies the pieces of information of interest. The information relationships are modeled using extended entity relationship (EER) diagrams which are then mapped to a relational model. The relational tables thus obtained were implemented on a commercial Database Management System (DBMS). The functional constraints and application interfaces were then built using Structured Query Languages (SQL) and commercial application interface tools. Subsequent sections describe the functional models, data flow diagrams (DFDs), EER diagrams, relational database design and user/application interfaces developed for the system. Implementation experiences and observations are discussed along with the applications of the implemented system. The case study has helped in developing a preliminary data model (i.e., a model about data by which a reasonable interpretation of the data can be obtained) for material handling (MH) functions.     

The logic of aliasing

Summary We present a new version of Hoare's logic that correctly handles programs with aliased variables. The central proof rules of the logic (procedure call and assignment) are proved sound and complete.An earlier version of this paper appeared in the Proceedings of the Fifth ACM Symposium on Principles of Programming Languages, 1978. This research has been partially supported by National Science Foundation grants MCS 76-14293 and MCS 76-000327     

Distributed Computing Systems

The 2nd International Conference On Distributed Computing Systems was held in Paris, France, 8–10 April, 1981. This meeting was organized by the Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et Automatique (INRIA) and the Laboratoire de Recherche en Informatique (LRI), with strong support from the International Committee on Distributed Computing of the IEEE. Sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society, A.C.U., A.F.C.E.T., C.N.E.T., C.N.R.S., E.R.O., and the I.F.I.P. Technical Committees 7 and 10, this was the second of a series of conferences which are expected to be held every eighteen months on the subject of Distributed Computing.The conference, which attracted more than 500 participants, was divided into the following topical sessions: (1) Opening Session, (2) Distributed Systems Structure, (3) Architecture, (4) Semantics of Parallel Programming, (5) Software Engineering for Distributed Systems, (6) Distributed Databases, (7) Performance Analysis, (8) Security and Reliability, (9) Distributed Scheduling, (10) Local Area Networks Applications, (11) Distributed Systems in Specific Applications, (12) Languages Constructs & Semantics of Parallel Programming, (13) Local Area Networks and Applications, and (14) Distributed Systems Structure.A detailed report on the conference, with emphasis on topics of special relevance to this Journal, is featured below.     

Stochastic stability of Positive Markov Jump Linear Systems

This paper investigates on the stability properties of Positive Markov Jump Linear Systems (PMJLS’s), i.e. Markov Jump Linear Systems with nonnegative state variables. Specific features of these systems are highlighted. In particular, a new notion of stability (Exponential Mean stability) is introduced and is shown to be equivalent to the standard notion of 1-moment stability. Moreover, various sufficient conditions for Exponential Almost-Sure stability are worked out, with different levels of conservatism. The implications among the different stability notions are discussed. It is remarkable that, thanks to the positivity assumption, some conditions can be checked by solving Linear Programming feasibility problems.     

Integrity validation in semantic engineering design environment

A collaborative engineering design environment has been devised based on semantic Web technologies. The Semantic Engineering Design Environment (SEDE) consists of Engineering Ontology, Design Rules, Design Database, and Design Data Web Service. The Design Data Web Service provides users APIs (Application Programming Interface) so that distributed Design Participants interface each other. The domain knowledge of design objects can be logically expressed by OWL (Web Ontology Language). Design rules regarding change management are encoded in XQuery and stored as database triggers. Once design data changes, associated design rules will be validated by database systems. In this paper we introduce the overall architecture of the collaborative engineering design environment and present working scenarios with examples.     

A fuzzy object-oriented data model for managing vague and uncertain information

In this paper, a fuzzy Object-Oriented Data model (FOOD) is defined based on the extension of a Graph-based Object model (D. Lucarella and A. Zanzi “A graph-oriented data model,” in Database and Expert Systems Applications, R. Wagner and H. Toma, Eds., Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1996, pp. 197–206), in order to manage both crisp and imperfect information. These capabilities are requisites of many current applications dealing with data of different nature and with complex interrelationships. The model is based on a visual paradigm which supports both the representation of the data semantics and the direct browsing of the information. In the extended model both the database scheme and instances are represented as directed labeled graphs in which the fuzzy and uncertain information has its own representation. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.