Abstract

Software ecosystems are emerging as an alternative approach for the development of complex software systems. The potentially transformational benefits of software ecosystems stems, primarily, from two basic principles that software ecosystems have embraced: transparency, a pillar in open source development, and modular system design. Despite the benefits associated with transparency and modularity, there are also important challenges that deserve attention. In this paper, we introduce the concept of interface translucence as an architectural mechanism that seeks to overcome challenges faced by transparency and modular system design. Interface translucence leverages the important technical role that interfaces play in software architectures to bridge the technical and socio-organizational dimensions of software development in ecosystems. We present an application of the concept of interface translucence in the context of architecting a software system as well as in the context of implementing it. We conclude with a discussion of future research work.

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