Context-aware systems must manage the dynamic selection, activation, and execution of feature variants according to changing contexts, detected from data gathered from their surrounding execution environment. Many context-oriented programming languages focus only on the implementation level by providing appropriate language abstractions for implementing behavioural variations that can adapt dynamically to changing contexts. They often ignore or presuppose the existence of mechanisms to deal with earlier aspects such as the gathering of sensory input and context discovery. In this presentation we discuss a layered software architecture that reconciles all these aspects in a single implementation framework, which can be customised by application programmers into actual context-aware applications. This framework and a simulator to test applications build using this framework we recently implemented in Ruby and Ruby on Rails.

1. Towards a Context-Oriented
Software Implementation Framework
Benoît Duhoux& Kim Mens
Nicolás Cardozo
Bruno Dumas & Anthony Cleve
COP 2016 @ ECOOP 2016 Rome, Italy July 2016
UCL, Belgium
UniAndes, Colombia
UNamur, Belgium
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2. PRESENTATION PLAN
CONTEXT-ORIENTED SOFTWARE
APPROACH
CASE STUDY (DEMO)
IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK
THE SIMULATOR
IMPLEMENTATION CHOICES
FUTURE WORK
2

3. CONTEXT-ORIENTED SOFTWARE
3

4. User
Interface
Behaviour Database
4

5. User
Interface
Behaviour Database
Features
• Default emergency instructions
• Instructions for a specific disaster
• …
5

6. User
Interface
Behaviour Data
F
e
a
t
u
r
e
s
• Localisation
• Connectivity
Contexts
• Emergency sensing
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7. APPROACH
7

8. Programming
Language
Development
Environment
Case Study
Implementation
Framework
8

9. CASE STUDY (DEMO)
9

10. DEMO
10

11. IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK
11

12. 12

13. User
Interface
Behaviour Database
Feature
Handling
Context
Handling
dynamically
add/remove
modules
13

14. Feature
Selection
Feature
Execution
Feature
Activation
Context
Handling
Handling
Discovery
Interpretation Reasoning
Interaction
Sensors
User
input
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15. Feature
Selection
Feature
Execution
Feature
Activation
Context
Handling
Handling
Discovery
Interpretation Reasoning
Interaction
Sensors
User
input
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Transition
Selection

16. Definitions
DeclarationsFilters
Listeners
Mapping
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17. Definitions
DeclarationsFilters
Listeners
Mapping
17
Application
LocationSensor
BatteryLevelSensor
EmergencySensor
ConnectivitySensor

18. Definitions
DeclarationsFilters
Listeners
Mapping
18
Application
LocationFilter
BatteryLevelFilter
EmergencyFliter
ConnectivityFilter
TimeFilter

19. Definitions
DeclarationsFilters
Listeners
Mapping
19
Application
Default FDefault
3G DisplayANavigableMap
Earthquake InformDisaster
LowBattery DisplayInstructions

20. Definitions
DeclarationsFilters
Listeners
Mapping
20
Application

21. Definitions
DeclarationsFilters
Listeners
Mapping
21
Application

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23. Definitions
DeclarationsFilters
Listeners
Mapping
23
Application
InformDisaster
DisplayANavigableMap
ComputeRoute
DisplayInstructions
FDefault

24. DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT
(“THE SIMULATOR”)
24

25. The Simulator
Simulate and test context-oriented web
applications
Validate the framework
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26. The Simulator at Work
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27. IMPLEMENTATION CHOICES
27

28. Ruby
JSON
Framework
Ruby on Rails
AJAX (JQuery)
Twitter Bootstrap
Simulator
Chosen Technologies
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29. FUTURE WORK
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30. What’s next ?
Complete case study
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Additional cases
User acceptance
Mobile applications
Enhance environment
Programming language

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