An “abstract process” approach to algebraic dynamic architecture description

Abstract

Current software development methodologies recognize the critical importance of the architectural concerns during the design phase. Software Architecture promises to be the solution for a number of recurring problems; but to do so, the first task is to be able to obtain a precise description of a system architecture. In late years, a number of specific architecture description languages (A dls) have been proposed in order to achieve the required precision. Most of them have solid formal foundations; among them, several process-algebraic A dls stand out for their popularity and expressive power. The algebraic approach to architecture description is probably the most successful in the field. There is a natural intuition relating the concepts of algebraic process and architectural component; anyway, none of the existing approaches seems to have found the right balance between them. This article explains what is the problem with them, and defines the informal concept of abstract process, trying to provide a reference for the right level of abstraction. After presenting the concept, the article presents a dynamic, reflective A dl named P i L ar, which has been designed using this notion. The syntax and semantics of this language are briefly summarized and explained. Finally, the classic example of the Gas Station is described in terms of P i L ar, and then compared to previous presentations in other A dls.