CFP: AOSD'04 workshop ACP4IS (Aspects, Components, and Patterns for Infrastructure Software)

The Third AOSD Workshop on Aspects,
Components, and Patterns for
Infrastructure Software (ACP4IS)
(http://www.cs.uvic.ca/~ycoady/acp4is04/index.html)


The importance of "systems infrastructure" software --- including
application servers, virtual machines, middleware, compilers, and
operating systems --- is increasing as application programmers demand
better and higher-level support for software development. Vendors that
provide superior support for application development have a competitive
advantage. The software industry as a whole benefits as the base level of
abstraction increases, thus decreasing the need for application
programmers to continually "reinvent the wheel".

These trends, however, mean that the demands on infrastructure software
are increasing. More and more features and requirements are being "pushed
down" into the infrastructure, and the developers of systems software need
better tools and techniques for handling these increased demands. The
design and implementation of systems-level software presents unique
opportunities and challenges for AOSD techniques. These challenges include
the need to address the inherent complexity of infrastructure software;
the need for strong assurances of correct and predictable behavior; the
need for maximum run-time performance; and the necessity of dealing with
the large body of existing systems software components.

This workshop aims to provide a highly interactive forum for researchers
and developers to discuss the application of and relationships between
aspects, components, and patterns within modern infrastructure software.
The goal is to put aspects, components, and patterns into a common
reference frame and to build connections between the software engineering
and systems communities. Suggested topics for position papers include, but
are not restricted to:


* Approaches that combine or relate component-, pattern-, and aspect-based
techniques

* Dimensions of infrastructure software quality including
comprehensibility, configurability (by implementors), customizability
(by users), reliability, evolvability, scalability, and run-time
characteristics such as performance and code size

* Merits and downsides of container-, ORB-, and system-based separation of
concerns

* Architectural techniques for particular system concerns, e.g., security,
static and dynamic optimization, and real-time

* Design patterns for systems software

* Component, pattern, and aspect ``mining'' within systems code

* Application- or domain-specific optimization of systems

* Reasoning and optimization across architecture layers

* Quantitative and qualitative evaluations


Agenda
------
The workshop will be structured to encourage fruitful discussions and
build connections between workshop participants. To this end,
approximately half of the workshop time will be devoted to short
presentations of accepted papers, with the remaining half devoted to
semi-structured discussion groups. Participants will be expected to have
read the accepted papers prior to the workshop, to help ensure focused
discussions. Participants will work with the workshop organizers prior to
the workshop to establish topics for discussion groups.


Submission Guidelines
---------------------
Invitation to the workshop will be based on accepted position papers, 3-6
pages in length. All papers must be submitted electronically in PDF,
Postscript, or MS Word format. Papers should be submitted via the
workshop's Web site. Submissions will be reviewed by the workshop program
committee and designated reviewers. Papers will be evaluated based on
technical quality, originality, relevance, and presentation.

All accepted papers will be posted at the workshop Web site prior to the
workshop date, to give all participants the opportunity to read them
before the workshop. In addition, the accepted papers will be published in
a Workshop Proceedings as a technical report.


Important Dates
---------------
Deadline for submissions: Monday, January 19, 2004
Notifications to authors: Monday, February 9, 2004
Workshop: Monday, March 22, 2004