When heterogeneous computers exchange data over a network, they must agree on a common interpretation of the data. The OSI suite of protocols includes a standard notation, Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1), for describing the structure ("abstract syntax") of data. Previous work has shown that C++ is a good language for work with layered network architectures and specifically with ASN.1: the inheritance and polymorphism features of C++ are nicely suited for work with layered protocols, which can be seen and used in object-oriented terms; a C++ class hierarchy, designed to capture the language concepts of ASN.1, successfully separates the abstract syntax (or application level) from the encoding used during transfer (the "transfer syntax" at presentation level); and the class construct and scoping rules of C++ and the design of the class hierarchy much better preserve the structure and content of ASN.1 than do past attempts with C. This report presents CATV (Class-oriented ASN.1 Translator, Yacc-based), a translator from ASN.1 to a corresponding C++ abstract syntax class hierarchy. It is shown in this report that the translations produced by CATV are preferable to those produced by other translators based on the following criteria: preservation of names and types, consistent access to elements, support of modularity and subtypes, resolution of forward references, flexibility of encoding, and generality of use. Furthermore, it is shown that CATV has better throughput than PEPSY, an ASN.1 to C translator from ISODE. / Master of Science

Master of Science

This thesis discusses PRIMM which stands for Parallel Remote Interactive Management Model. PRIMM is a framework for object oriented applications that relies on grid computing. It works as an interface between the remote applications and the parallel computing system. The thesis shows the capabilities that could be achieved from PRIMM architecture.

The application of higher-order PDA-based flow analyses to object-oriented languages enables comprehensive and precise characterization of program behavior, while retaining practicality with efficiency. We implement one such flow analysis which we've named OOCFA2. While over the years many advancements in flow analysis have been made, they have almost exclusively been with respect to functional languages, often modeled with the calculus. Object-oriented semantics--while also able to be modeled in a functional setting--provide certain structural guarantees and common idioms which we believe are valuable to reason over in a first-class manner. By tailoring modern, advanced flow analyses to object-oriented semantics, we believe it is possible to achieve greater precision and efficiency than could be had using a functional modeling. This, in turn, reflects upon the possible classes of higher-level analyses using the underlying flow analysis: the more powerful, efficient, and flexible the flow analysis, the more classes of higher-level analyses--e.g., security analyses--can be practically expressed. The growing trend is that smartphone and mobile-device (e.g., tablet) users are integrating these devices into their lives, in more frequent and more personal ways. Accordingly, the primary application and proof-of-concept for this work is the analysis of the Android operating system's permissions-based security system vis--vis potentially malicious applications. It is implemented atop OOCFA2. The use of a such a powerful higher-order flow analysis allows one to apply its knowledge to create a wide variety of powerful and practical security-analysis "front-ends"--not only the permissions-checking analysis in this work, but also, e.g., information-flow analyses. OOCFA2 is the first PDA-based higher-order flow analysis in an object-oriented setting. We empirically evaluate its accuracy and performance to prove its practical viability. We also evaluate the proof-of-concept security analysis' accuracy as directly related to OOCFA2; this shows promising results for the potential of building security-oriented "front-ends" atop OOCFA2.

This study examined how a multimedia-based cognitive tool (MCT) facilitates novices' conceptual understanding of object-oriented programming (OOP). The tool used in this study was CSNüb, a game template created in Adobe Flash. The MCT design framework guided CSNüb's design. The MCT design framework was synthesized from literature on constructivist, multimedia, and motivation learning theories and computer-based cognitive tool design principles. Students worked with CSNüb to develop a simple role-playing game (RPG). Through clinical interviews and process tracing methods, it was found that CSNüb affected novice computer science students' conceptual understanding of OOP through five cognitive processes and factors: cognitive disequilibrium evoked through multimedia-based feedback, exploring for resources that scaffold understanding, changing the level of awareness of the "bigger picture" and ability for higher-level thinking, and consistent refinement of solutions and mental models within the problem space. The five cognitive processes and factors were found to be the result of three levels of interaction with CSNüb. At the Tool Level, students received conflicting information, generally through multimedia-based feedback from the CSNüb, which placed students in states of disequilibrium. At the Interaction Level, students interacted with the CSNüb to resolve their disequilibrium through exploring resources within the tool and refining their solution. They were able to experiment and test out their understanding on OOP. At the Cognitive Level, students used the resources as cognitive scaffolds found through exploration, which in turn, increased the degree of awareness and influenced the level at which they understood the object-oriented system. The five cognitive processes and factors through the three levels of interaction were formed into one model--the MCT Interaction Model (MCTIM)--as a general explanation for how MCTs, such as CSNüb, affects novice students' conceptual understanding. / text

The design of a new computer language, called the User Interface Language (UIL), is analyzed and evaluated by coding a representative procedure. UIL will provide the man-machine interface for command procedures on the Space Station FREEDOM. The UIL procedure written is modeled after an operational procedure used in the Space Shuttle program. This work provides a concrete test case to verify that UIL can be used to implement procedures for the Space Station. The object oriented approach taken with UIL is based on the successful application of these concepts for a variety of other software tools in operation today. Three major enhancements are proposed in this thesis: event handlers, data structures, and class/object creation capabilities. The addition of these capabilities changes the character of UIL from an object manipulation language to an object based language. The new capabilities, if adopted, will profoundly change the future of UIL.

M.Sc. (Computer Science) / This report is primarily concerned with highlighting fmdings of a research recently undertaken towards completing the requirements for the M.Sc. degree of 1994 at the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU). The research is aimed at striving to investigate what benefits (if any) exist in Object-Oriented Parallel Systems. The area of research revolves around the Object-Oriented Parallel Paradigm (OOPP) which is currently under development by the author. One primary aim of this research is to investigate numerous current trends in Object-Oriented Parallel Systems and Language Developments with the objective of providing an indication as to whether the Object-Oriented methodology can be (or has been) successfully married with existing Parallel Processing mechanisms. New benefits may come about while attempting to combine these methodologies, and this expectation will also be reflected upon. The Object-Oriented methodology allows a system designer the ability to approach a problem with a good degree of problem space understanding; while Parallel Processing allows the system designer the ability to create extremely fast algorithms for solving problems amenable to Parallel Processing techniques. The question we attempt to answer is whether the Object-Oriented methodology can be successfully married to the Parallel Processing field (whilst maintaining a high degree of benefits encountered in both methodologies) so as to gain the best of both worlds. Certain papers have laid claim to their proposed system encompassing both the Object-Oriented methodology, as well as the Parallel Processing methodology. In view of this fact, we shall furthermore examine papers to see if any of these systems are candidates for successfully marrying Object-Oriented and Parallel Processing into one homogeneous body. Criticism will be given on the shortcomings of unsuccessful candidates. Based on the findings of the research, the report will culminate to the proposal of the Object-Oriented Parallel Paradigm (OOPP). OOPP will speculate on the most probable features that system designers can expect to see in an almost ideal Object-Oriented Parallel System. It is very important at this stage to mention that, at its current state of development, OOPP is only a paradigm; thus OOPP should be viewed merely as an abstract model intended to establish a solid foundation for building more formal Object-Oriented Parallel Methodologies. Furthermore, OOPP is intended to be suitable for present day systems and amenable (possibly with a few minor adjustments) to future systems. The author trusts OOPP to generate sufficient interest to warrant further research being commissioned. In this event, OOPP should be expected to undergo modifications and enhancements...

FOOPS is a concurrent object oriented specification language with an executable subset. In this thesis we propose an extension of FOOPS with features for specifying systems of distributed and autonomous objects. This extension supports most features of concurrent object oriented programming, including classes of objects with associated methods and attributes, object identity, dynamic object creation and deletion, overloading, polymorphism, inheritance with overriding, dynamic binding, concurrency, nondeterminism, atomic execution, evaluation of method expressions as background processes, and object protection. The main contribution of this thesis is to develop a framework for supporting formal development of software in the extension of FOOPS mentioned above. In particular, we introduce a structural operational semantics for FOOPS, a notion of refinement for concurrent object oriented programs, congruence properties of refinement of FOOPS programs, and tools for mechanising refinement proofs. The operational semantics is the core of the formal definition of FOOPS. It is used to define notions of refinement for FOOPS states, programs, and specifications. Those notions and associated proof techniques for proving refinement are used to illustrate stepwise formal development of programs in FOOPS. The congruence properties of refinement (with respect to some of FOOPS operators) justify compositional development of software in FOOPS. The tools help to validate the framework introduced in this thesis and motivate its use in practice.

A project report submitted to the Faculty of Erlglncerlng, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science In Engineering Johannesburg 1993 / This Project Repolt r ''"lorts on the study of an approach to building integrated real-time software systems based on re-usable object-oriented components. The basis of the approach is the development of a a-layered structure of components, where each layer is built on the underlying layer of components, The lower layer of components consists of generic re-usable building blocks that may be re-used for building and integrating other real-time applications. The middle layer consists of components that are generic to the application domain, and the top layer consists of components that are specific to each application of that application domain. The Report includes researching and developing methods of communicating between these building blocks using an OSI/CMIP-conformant 'software highway" and in this regard particular attention is given to the formal and de facto industry standards. With this approach, it is argued that the application engineer can effectively build new applications using the re-usable components. This is demonstrated by reporting on the implementation of a large real-world Telecommunications Network Management application. The Project Report contains a critical analysis of the technical, organisational and project management issues of this Object-oriented component approach as compared to the traditional development approach. The Report concludes that despite certain technical and organisational concerns, the object-oriented approach does indeed yield several worthwhile benefits for developing real-time software systems. These benefits include genuine re-usability, and l"1proved productivity, testability and maintainability.

We survey and compare the different major mechanisms for embedding the relational database language SQL in object-oriented programming languages such as Java and C#, with regard to how much impedance mismatch these embeddings suffer. Here impedance mismatch refers to clarity and performance difficulties that arise because of the nature of the embedding. Because of the central position in the information technology industry of object-oriented programs that access SQL-based relational database systems, reducing impedance mismatch is generally recognized in that industry as an important practical problem. We argue for the suitability of SQL as a database language, and hence for the desirability of keeping SQL as the view provided by a SQL embedding. We make the case that SQLJ, a SQL embedding for Java in which it appears that Java directly supports SQL commands, is the kind of SQL embedding that suffers the least impedance mismatch, when compared with call-level interfaces and object-relational mappings. We propose extensions to SQLJ that would reduce its impedance mismatch even further. / by Jose Luis Hurtado. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.