mira@ccs.neu.edu
The definition of a class library is a process in which both designers and users are involved: the designers provide basic functionality, and the users subsequently specialize it. Consequently, suitable means are required for coordinating the activity of both, in order to ensure the coherence of possible redefinitions. In this paper we propose a metaclass approach for bridging the gap between library designers and specializers, by enabling the designer to express particular properties of the library which are then automatically imposed on all possible redefinitions. The proposal is based on a dispersed meta-description of classes and an automatic metaclass construction by gathering the appropriate set of partial descriptions according to the properties to be satisfied and combining them by means of a new mechanism for behavior combination, the {\em ClassCombiner} mechanism.