Source Code Plug-Ins in Detail 

Enhancement options and enhancement implementation elements of explicit enhancement technologies are organized into larger units, which are assigned to one another in different cardinalities. The units are similar for all explicit enhancement technologies, but the cardinalities are different. Therefore, it would be useful to demonstrate the organization for explicit, that is planned enhancements of the source code using source code plug-ins to give you an impression of the structure.

The enhancement possibilities of the source code result from the insertion of an enhancement option. An enhancement option is an anchor point at which you can insert one or more (simple) enhancement implementations. When you insert an enhancement implementation at an enhancement option, a source code plug-in is created. At an enhancement option of the type Enhancement Point the enhancement implementation enhances the source code, while at an Enhancement Section exactly one implementation replaces the code in this section.

The following example shows how a source code plug-in is actually inserted into the code. The added enhancements are shown in the Editor at the points where they were inserted. However, they do not belong to the package of this source code unit, but instead to the package of the enhancement implementation that they are assigned to.