Identifying Competitive Interaction of Patterns in Software Product Lines

Abstract

Enterprise design patterns (such as JEE patterns) can be used to promote Quality Attributes (QA) as functional features when deriving products in an Enterprise Applications Software Product Line (SPL). One of the issues found in product derivation is the interaction of code fragments generated by applying patterns. This interaction can be collaborative or competitive. When competitive, relationships can be adaptable or excluding. In both cases, different approaches (e.g., pattern composition, pattern substitution, constraint reasoning) can be used to address the problem. However, identifying and predicting these interactions early can be useful to develop suitable strategies. In this work, we explore and identify competitive feature interactions using two base repositories: QAs from a known standard and patterns from a catalogue. We show two cases of feature interaction, when promoting specific levels of QAs in an Enterprise Application SPL.