MODELING DYNAMIC COLLECTIONS OF INTERDEPENDENT OBJECTS USING PATH-BASED RULES

Standard object-oriented languages do not provide language support for modeling changing collections of interdependent objects. We propose t hat R++, an integration of the rule and object-oriented paradigms, pro vides a mechanism for easily implementing such models. R++ extends C+ by adding a new programming construct called the path-based rule. Suc h data-driven rules are restricted to follow pointers between objects, and are like ''automatic methods'' that are triggered by changes to m onitored objects. Path-based rules encourage a more abstract level of programming, and unlike previous rule integrations, are not at odds wi th the object-oriented paradigm and offer performance advantages for n atural applications.