Empirical analysis of existence dependency properties in object-oriented software

Existence Dependency is an important concept in Object-Oriented modeling. It defines the constraint between two related entities such that the life of the dependent object cannot start before the life of its parent. Similarly, the life of the parent cannot end before the life of any of its dependent objects end. In this dissertation project, we discovered a control flow graph pattern to maintain Existence Dependencies between classes in object-oriented software. We examined different object-oriented software and identify the various existence dependency pairs of entities within each software. Control flow graphs were created to illustrate all possible paths that affect the creation and destruction of each existence dependency pairs. The control flow graph patterns of Existence Dependency are being validated statistically against these real-life object-oriented software systems. Our statistical validation gives evidence to support the validity of the control flow graph patterns.Master of Science (Communication Software and Networks