Concept-Oriented Blog

Values are opposed to objects but they have different level of support in OOP. In concept-oriented programming (COP) both values and objects have equal rights because they are two sides of one element. COP uses concepts to describe its elements where a concept is a couple consisting of one reference class and one object class. Inclusion relation is used in COP instead of classical inheritance so that one base can be shared among many extensions. more »

Most conventional programming languages provide only standard references and there is no easy possibility to develop domain-specific references for this concrete application as integral part of this program. Concept-oriented programming (CoP) is a novel approach which makes references first-class citizens of the object world so that references and objects have equal rights and both have arbitrary domain-specific structure/behavior. more »

One interesting observation about computer programs is that something always happens during object access behind the scenes which means that any object access inevitably entails execution of some code which is not part of this program. These intermediate actions executed implicitly are referred to as dark matter of the program. Most conventional approaches to programming do not provide effective means for describing this layer of functionality. To solve this problem a new approach to programming has been developed -- Concept-Oriented Programming (CoP). The focus in CoP shifts to developing intermediate functions rather than end object methods. Within this approach, dark matter plays central role and is made integral part of the program. In CoP, the programmer is not only able to influence what happens behind the scenes but rather it is his main concern. In other words, the main task in CoP is creating domain specific environments where objects will live. CoP generalizes OOP by retaining its main principles and it can be also viewed as an interesting alternative to AOP. CoP introduces a new programming construct, called concept, which generalizes conventional classes, and a new relation, called inclusion relation, which generalizes inheritance. more »