Edicts: Implementing Features With Flexible Binding Times

In a software product line, the binding time of a feature is the time at which one decides to include or exclude a feature from a product. Typical binding site implementations are intended to support a single binding time only, e.g., compile time or run time. Sometimes, however, a product line must support features with variable binding times. For instance, a product line may need to include both embedded system configurations, in which features are selected and optimized early and desktop configurations, in which client programs choose features on demand. The authors present a new technique for implementing the binding sites of features that require flexible binding times.