Extending objects to support multiple interfaces and access control

A mechanism, called views, that allows programmers to specify multiple interfaces for objects and to control explicitly access to each interface is described. This mechanism provides a simple and flexible means of specifying enforceable access restrictions at many levels of granularity. It also results in system organization that supports browsing based on a number of different criteria. Views is defined, some examples of its uses are given, the impact of views on system organization is discussed, and five approaches to implementing views are outlined.< >