Call For Participation

ECOOP' 97 Workshop #11

2nd ECOOP Workshop on Prototype-Based Object-Oriented Programming Monday 9 June Jyvaskyla, Finland

http://www.mri.mq.edu.au/~kjx/proto97.html

In recent years an alternative to the traditional class-based object-oriented language model has emerged. In this prototype-based paradigm there are no classes. Rather, new kinds of objects are formed more directly by composing concrete, fully-fledged objects, which are often referred to as prototypes. When compared to class-based languages, prototype-based languages are conceptually simpler, and have many other characteristics that make them appealing, especially for the development of evolving, exploratory and/or distributed software systems.

The distinction between class-based and prototype-based systems reflects a long-lasting philosophical dispute concerning the representation of abstractions. Class-based languages such as Smalltalk, Java, and C++ explicitly use classes to represent similarity among collections of objects. Prototype-based systems such as Self, NewtonScript, Omega, and Obliq do not rely so much on advance categorisation and classification, but rather try to make the concepts in the problem domain as tangible and intuitive as possible. A typical argument in favour of prototypes is that people seem to be much better at dealing with specific examples first, then generalising from them, than they are at absorbing general abstract principles first and later applying them in particular cases.

The prototype-based approach is not restricted to programming languages. When designing a system, does one think of the classes involved or the objects? Some design methods use class-centric language but are really talking about objects. For example, with CRC cards - is it really classes or objects which have responsibilities? Similarly, most design methods consider that classes have association and aggregation relationships between each other, but objects really have these relationships. It could be argued that some design methods are already partially prototype-based, but disguise this behind class-based terminology.

Prototypes give rise to a broad spectrum of interesting technical, conceptual and philosophical issues. Different variations of prototype-based object-oriented programming exist, as discussed in recent conference papers and panel discussions and including workshops at ECOOP and OOPSLA. In this workshop we will examine the state-of-the-art in prototype-based object-oriented programming, focusing especially on the following questions: * What are the specific advantages or niches of the prototype-based paradigm which will make or break its widespread use? * How is the prototype-based paradigm simpler to understand and use than the traditional class-based paradigm? * What ultimately distinguishes prototype-based programming from class-based programming?

Potential topics for discussion in the workshop include, but are not limited to:

- models of prototype-based programming, - experiences in implementing and using prototype-based systems, - guidelines, idioms and patterns for programming with prototypes, - analysis and design techniques for prototype-based systems, - prototype-based user interfaces. - research directions for prototype-based programming.

Potential workshop participants are requested to submit a short paper (2-5 pages) by April 14 to the address below (e-mail in PostScript or ASCII format is strongly preferred):

James Noble MRI, School of MPCE Macquarie University Sydney NSW 2109 Australia Email: kjx@mri.mq.edu.au Courier: E6A330, Herring Road, North Ryde

Participants reporting on experience are invited to indicate if they want to provide a short (< 15 min) demonstration or videotape to illustrate their report in the workshop.

Attendance to the workshop will be limited to approximately 20 participants to enable fruitful discussion.

Workshop Organisers:

James Noble MRI, School of MPCE Macquarie University Sydney NSW 2109 Australia Tel. +61 2 9850 9530 Fax. +61 2 9850 9529 E-mail: kjx@mri.mq.edu.au

Ivan Moore OTI UK Ltd 131 High Holborn London WC1V 6PS Tel. +44 171 440 9825 Fax. +44 171 440 9826 E-mail: Ivan_Moore@oti.com

vFrom Mario.Wolczko@Eng.Sun.COM Thu Apr 3 19:51:24 1997 Return-Path: Mario.Wolczko@Eng.Sun.COM Received: from venus.Sun.COM by self.sunlabs.com (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id TAA04932; Thu, 3 Apr 1997 19:51:23 -0800 Received: from Eng.Sun.COM ([129.146.1.25]) by venus.Sun.COM (SMI-8.6/mail.byaddr) with SMTP id TAA16990 for self-interest@self.sunlabs.com; Thu, 3 Apr 1997 19:48:26 -0800 Received: from obj.Eng.Sun.COM by Eng.Sun.COM (SMI-8.6/SMI-5.3) id TAA24040; Thu, 3 Apr 1997 19:48:23 -0800 Received: by obj.Eng.Sun.COM (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id TAA10346; Thu, 3 Apr 1997 19:47:25 -0800 Date: Thu, 3 Apr 1997 19:47:25 -0800 Message-Id: 199704040347.TAA10346@obj.Eng.Sun.COM From: Mario Wolczko mario@Eng.Sun.COM To: self-interest@self.sunlabs.com Subject: [tim@inland.net: SELFs] Reply-to: Mario Wolczko mario@Eng.Sun.COM content-length: 502

Although sent on Apr 1, this is no joke...

From: "Tim W. Seawolf" tim@inland.net To: self-request@self.smli.com Subject: SELFs Date: Tue, 1 Apr 1997 09:25:08 -0800 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Priority: 3

Hello, my name is Tim Seawolf-Self.

I would like to cordially invite you to visit our Home Page at:

http://www.inland.net/~tim/

Our site, "Self Portraits", is dedicated to exchanging information and doing research on the Self Family History.

Check it out! Hope to hear from you soon!