Subject-oriented programming (a critique of pure objects)

Abstract

Object-Oriented technology is often described in terms of an interwoven troika of themes: encapsulation, polymorphism, and inheritance. But these themes are firmly tied with the concept of identity. If object-oriented technology is to be successfully scaled from the development of independent applications to development of integrated suites of applications, it must relax its emphasis on the object. The technology must recognize more directly that a multiplicity of subjective views delocalizes the concept of object, and must emphasize more the binding concept of identity to tie them together. This paper explores this shift to a style of objectoriented technology that emphasizes the subjective views: Subject-Oriented Programming.