Module interconnection languages

Abstract

Module interconnection languages are considered essential tools in the development of large software systems. Current software development practice follows the principle of the recursive decomposition of larger problems that can be grasped, understood, and handled by specialized and usually independent teams of software engineers. After teams succeed in designing and coding their respective subsystems, they are faced with different but usually more difficult issues; how to integrate independently developed subsystems or modules into the originally planned complete system. Module interconnection languages (MILs) provide formal grammar constructs for describing the global structure of a software system and for deciding the various module interconnection specifications required for its complete assembly. Automatic processing of these formal descriptions results in a verification of system integrity and intermodular compatibility. This paper is a survey of MILs that are specifically designed to support module interconnection and includes brief descriptions of some software development systems that support module interconnection.