A means is provided for specifying, applying, and managing sets of temporary
or
permanent additions or modifications to the behavior of object-oriented programs
without having to change the code of the program, by using externalized rules.
The points at which the externalized rules may be applied is determined by the
implementation object model, thus making their specification natural to the program
developers who are familiar with the program's implementation object model. The
concept of dynamic method-based trigger or control points is disclosed for identifying
potential rule attachment points in objects and identifying the rules that are
applicable to each dynamic control point.