Re: Interesting but sensitive topic to discuss (HELP: - OOP and CASE tools)

[Anthony Menio <menio@pegasus.montclair.edu>]

On 11 Nov 1996 > 

> Yes, but what's the relevance of this to the question of whether "OO
> programs are systems of interacting **objects**" rather than systems of
> modules (either classes or prototypes or actors) that ``contain''
> procedures that invoke each other?
> 
> Do OO programs by and large describe static relationships between
> modules (or parts thereof like interfaces)? Or do they describe
> collections of instances/clones of those modules (or their types) and
> how they interact?
> 
> 
I think the answer to this can be found in the analysis model.
The analysis model descibes the objects that will be existance
during the systems existance. In this model and thus the
functioning system your interested in definate articals ie
actual entities not classes of entities(ie currentProcess,
ActiveWindow, nextTransaction, rather than definitions of
the types which these are instances of) . The relationships
expressed are dynamic ones as the effects of the messaging between
these objects will be related to thier state. Having state
is a characteristic soley of objects not classes they have
attributes whuch describe abstactly the set of possible states
but not states themselves. In terms of database concepts the
analysis model and the functioning system descibes the
extension of the system and classes the intension of the system.
Thus the design model is a description system in terms
of the classes and class relations that will be used to 
create the objects and dynamic messaging relations which
exists in the functioning system.