Reuse vs. maintainability: revealing the impact of composition code properties

Over the last years, several composition mechanisms have emerged to improve program modularity. Even though these mechanisms widely vary in their notation and semantics, they all promote a shift in the way programs are structured. They promote expressive means to define the composition of two or more reusable modules. However, given the complexity of the composition code, its actual effects on software quality are not well understood. This PhD research aims at investigating the impact of emerging composition mechanisms on the simultaneous satisfaction of software reuse and maintainability. In order to perform this analysis, we intend to define a set of composition driven metrics and compare their efficacy with traditional modularity metrics. Finally, we plan to derive guidelines on how to use new composition mechanisms to maximize reuse and stability of software modules.