Architectures that can dynamically adapt to changing requirement
are sometimes called "reflective" or "meta" architectures. We call a
particular kind of reflective architecture an "Adaptive Object-Model
(AOM)" architecture. An Adaptive Object-Model is a system that
represents classes, attributes, relationships, and behavior as
metadata. It is a model based on instances rather than classes. Users
change the metadata (object model) to reflect changes to the domain
model. These changes modify the system's behavior. In other word, it
stores its Object-Model in XML files or in a database and interprets
it. Consequently, the object model is adaptive; when the descriptive
information for the object model is changed, the system immediately
reflects those changes.

We have noticed that the architects of a system with Adaptive
Object-Models often claim this is the best system they have ever
created, and they brag about its flexibility, power, and eloquence. At
the same time, many developers find them confusing and hard to work
with. This is due in part because the developers do not understand the
architecture.

This tutorial will give a description of the Adaptive Object-Model
architectural style and will make it easier for developers to
understand and build systems that need to adapt to changing requirements.