Hint: A planning-based tool for framework instantiation

Object-oriented frameworks are, perhaps, the most important reuse technology today available. This is so, because they enable the reuse of both code and design. However, the effective use of frameworks to instantiate new applications represents one of the most limiting factors of this reuse technology. Therefore, tools to support the process of framework instantiation are increasingly necessary. In this line, we present Hint, an environment for assisting the instantiation of Java frameworks based on software agent technology. Actually, Hint is the evolution of a previous work in the subject, and it was built around a software agent that starts asking the user to select the functionality needed for a new application and after that elaborates a sequence of programming activities that should be carried out in order to implement it. In order to enable the agent to do its work, the framework must be documented following the Smartbooks documentation method. The most relevant contribution of this work is the use of planning techniques to guide the execution of instantiation activities according to the framework design.