Using subject-oriented modeling to develop Jini applications

A major contributing factor to the complexity of creating and evolving distributed systems is the tangling of middleware-specific functionality with core business functionality in system designs. Changing middleware functionality that is entangled with business functionality can lead to costly and risky rearchitecting of the system or extensive redesign of parts of the system. The subject-oriented software development approach addresses this problem by separating the design of crosscutting features into design subjects. We describe an approach for separating Jini middleware features as design subjects which can be composed with primary design subjects that realize the core functionality of the application. In this context, we identify limitations in the existing specification notation and propose extensions.