Composition and interfaces within software architecture

ABSTRACT

The Software Architecture community has developed a common vocabulary for describing software components and their interconnections. However, the structure of ports and roles have been too simplistic for capturing even simple examples. This paper explores the part that composition and inheritance play in defining interfaces using ports and roles. We discuss these concepts within the context of the JavaBeans component model and show how to capture the complexity inherent in the interfaces of components and connectors.

REFERENCES

• 1: Gregory D. Abowd , Robert Allen , David Garlan, Formalizing style to understand descriptions of software architecture, ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology (TOSEM), v.4 n.4, p.319-364, Oct. 1995 [doi>10.1145/226241.226244]
• 2: Erich Gamma , Richard Helm , Ralph Johnson , John Vlissides, Design patterns: elements of reusable object-oriented software, Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc., Boston, MA, 1995
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• 4: George T. Heineman, A Model for Designing Adaptable Software Components, Proceedings of the 22nd International Computer Software and Applications Conference, p.121-127, August 19-21, 1998
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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
        D.2.11 Software Architectures
            Subjects: Languages (e.g., description, interconnection, definition)

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.2 Design Tools and Techniques
          Subjects: Modules and interfaces
  D.3 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
      D.3.3 Language Constructs and Features
          Subjects: Inheritance

General Terms:
Algorithms, Design, Experimentation, Languages, Theory