On a C++ framework to support design by contract

Design by Contract (DbC) is a software engineering paradigm that aims to reduce the amount of source code in a computer program by avoiding redundant parameter checking. It is based on strict interface specifications, including the specification of responsibilities for checking. Although DbC potentially leads to better quality programs, it has to be supported by the programming language/environment used. This is not the case for mainstream object-oriented languages like C++ or Java. This paper introduces a novel C++ framework that supports DbC. The benefits gained and the computational costs generated by using the new framework were evaluated by applying it in a C++ case study. Software metrics were used to compare and to analyze both, the traditional and DbC implementation of the same software design.