Framework for objects having authorable behaviors and appearances

A framework is described that serves as an expression evaluator and notification manager for software objects, and can traverse individual object models to use parts of one model to define another. An object model (data model) is a map of an object's properties and methods, and the framework of the present invention binds to the properties and methods and intercepts access to the properties for storage and evaluation of variables within the definitions of the properties. Binding the framework to the object accesses and uses the type info for the object to determine the properties of the object. In addition, the framework provides a method for the object author to override and specialize the properties to describe extensions of the type information.