Blocks Correctness Evaluation Methodology for Block-Based Software Development

Abstract

The term “block” in Block-Based Software Development (BBSD) refers to a software component that has the characteristics of reusable, composition, customizable and configurable. Based on the principles of component-based software development and end-user development, the objective of BBSD is to allow non-programmer known as end-user to build a new application by using a set of blocks by creating composite blocks, configuring and customizing for a specific application domain. In the current implementation, a Domain Initiator is responsible for identifying blocks’ specifications, which will be uploaded to the block store repository. Block developers can contribute to developing blocks using the Java programming language. Blocks for a specific domain are bundled as a JAR file. These blocks will be stored in a block store. The block store is a software repository that provides a sharing mechanism for domain driven blocks specification, cataloging, archiving, and distribution. Before the blocks submitted to the block store can be distributed to end-users, they are required to undergo the process of block verification and evaluation to ensure that they conform to the requirement specification. The submitted blocks will also need to be approved by the domain initiator before they are made available to the end users. This paper proposes the block-based evaluation methodology as well as the software tool which helps domain initiator in the process of blocks verification and evaluation. The proposed methodology consists of three types of validation namely Automatic Validation Approach, JSR-303 or JSR-349 standard bean Validation Specification, and the manual testing. The proposed methodology itself was verified through a case study using a list of blocks submitted to the block store repository.