| Stratified Programming (SP), described in this thesis, is an attempt to extend the use of abstraction in programming. By using refinement together with abstraction, SP represents the system in a logical and structurally-manageable manner. The level of salient detail is determined by program strata that contribute functional details that become more specific according to the stratum's depth. Altogether, program strata describe and determine the level of functionality in a software system.; Furthermore, this correspondence between design strata and execution strata can be maintained at all times, allowing the level of detail to be adjusted at any point from software design to program execution.; This thesis presents the principles of SP and provides details on the software specification, design, and prototype implementation of SPINDLE. The thesis also includes a comparison with approaches related to SP and its supporting environment, and suggests directions of future work. |
