Towards feature modularization

Virtual Separation of Concerns was introduced as a way to reduce drawbacks of implementing product line variability with preprocessors. Developers can focus on certain features and hide others of no interest. However, features eventually share elements, which might break feature modularity, since modifications in a feature result in problems for another. In this thesis we propose the concept of emergent feature modularization. The idea consists of establishing contracts among features to prevent the developer from breaking other features when performing a maintenance task.