Object-oriented software development using constraint-based modeling

In this paper, we propose constraint-based modeling using constraint patterns, which can utilize information of constraint effectively, reuse the structure of efficient and executable software, and construct constraint representation and constraint solvers suitable to domains easily. In order to construct domain-specific constraint solvers, we define the new pattern realized by combining extended patterns and existing patterns as constraint pattern. We show that by sub-classing and refining components of constraint patterns, object-oriented software development using constraint solvers which maintain consistency of relationships among domain-specific objects and among attributes on an object leads to easy construction of applications. We select two problems: GUI system for information control system and design system for mechanical engineering as application, and apply constraint-based modeling to these problems. Furthermore, typical problems of constraint satisfaction problem are also selected and applied as applications. The result of these applications shows that our development method using constraint-based modeling leads to easy development of object-oriented systems that include constraint solver systems facilitating declarative description of relations among objects and flexible control of behavior of these objects, by regarding these relations as constraint.