Obtaining generic classes automatically through a parameterization operator. A focus on constrained genericity

Generic classes allow one, through type parameter instantiation, to obtain new classes that are adapted to different contexts. Therefore, genericity is an important support for class reuse. When the possibility of reusing a class to deal with elements of different domains arises, it is desirable to have the appropriated generic class. Nevertheless, the construction of generic classes is a task that must be planned in advance. Hence, the possibility of reusing a class in other domain can appear, but maybe the class is not prepared for this. In this paper, we present the definition of a class restructuring operator which allows one to obtain generic classes from non-generic classes. The operator is named “parameterize”. In particular, we present the operator definition for an environment that supports the reuse of Eiffel classes. First, we present briefly the operator and then we focus on those aspects concerned with how to obtain a restriction class to constrain generic parameters. All these aspects are introduced by using examples.