METHOD AUTOMATED CLASS CONVERSION FOR COMPOSITION IMPLEMENTATION

Abstract

Context. Using the composition relation is one of the most effective and commonly used ways to specialize classes in object-oriented programming. Objective. Problems arise when “redundant” attributes are detected in an inner class, which are not necessary for solving the tasks of a specialized class. To work with such attributes, the inner class has corresponding program methods, whose usage not only does not solve the tasks of the specialized class, but can lead to errors in its work. The purpose of this work is to remove “redundant” attributes from the inner class, as well as all methods of the class directly or indirectly (through other methods) using these attributes. Method. A mathematical model of the inner class was developed, which allowed us to identify “redundant” elements of the class. The method of internal class transformation is proposed, which, based on the analysis of the class code, provides the developer with information to make a decision about “redundant” attributes, and then in the automated mode gradually removes and transforms the class elements. Result. To approbate the proposed solutions, a software product Composition Converter was developed. Experiments were carried out to compare the conversion of classes in “manual” and automated modes. The results showed a multiple reduction of conversion time in the automated mode. Conclusions. The proposed method of automated transformation of the inner class according to the tasks of the outer class when implementing composition allows to significantly reduce the time or the number of errors when editing the code of the inner class. The method can be used for various object-oriented languages.