Modular system building with JavaTM packages

As part of a project to develop scalable development techniques for systems written in the Java programming language, we are investigating the suitability of the package construct in Java as a system structuring mechanism. Although the Java package is incomplete in this regard, it represents a good foundation when combined with an advanced programming environment inspired by Vesta. The few ways in which the Java package is unsuitable appear to be correctable with careful programming conventions and support from the environment. At the center of the proposed approach is the notion of a hierarchical namespace based on Internet Domain Names populated by reusable, independently versioned packages, each of which encapsulates a parameterized build script. This concept unifies several important aspects of software development and permits the design of tools that simplify the development process. A laboratory prototype environment, based on persistent Java objects, is being constructed and now supports its own development