Understanding variability abstraction and realization

Abstract

Software product line engineering (SPLE) emerged as a successful software reuse paradigm. The essence of SPLE is the process of factoring out commonalities and systematizing variabilities, that is, differences, among the products in a SPL. In this talk, I will take the position that this process is the very act of abstraction. Thus, as suggested by Coplien et al. [8], the purpose of abstraction mechanisms, such as subroutines and inheritance in programming languages and architectural patterns and platforms in architectural design, is to support factoring out commonalities and making variabilities explicit. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.