Context-oriented programming: A software engineering perspective

The implementation of context-aware systems can be supported through the adoption of techniques at the architectural level such as middlewares or component-oriented architectures. It can also be supported by suitable constructs at the programming language level. Context-oriented programming (COP) is emerging as a novel paradigm for the implementation of this kind of software, in particular in the field of mobile and ubiquitous computing. The COP paradigm tackles the issue of developing context-aware systems at the language-level, introducing ad-hoc language abstractions to manage adaptations modularization and their dynamic activation. In this paper we review the state of the art in the field of COP in the perspective of the benefits that this technique can provide to software engineers in the design and implementation of context-aware applications.