Component-based Application Development Research Articles

Micro and macro workflow variability design techniques of component

Components should provide variability in satisfying a variety of domains [ C. Szyperski, Component Software: Beyond Object-Oriented Programming, Addison-Wesley, 2002.], but it is not easy to develop components which can be applied to all domains. Although components are developed by analyzing many different requirements, developing components that satisfy all requirements is difficult since unexpected requirements occur during the utilization of components. Hence, providing the variability of components becomes an important prerequisite for a successful component-based application development. In this paper, we propose a variability design technique that can satisfy the business workflow requirements of many different kinds of domains. The technique addresses a method for designing the variability of the workflow in a more detailed method and uses an object-oriented mechanism and design patterns. One of the most important goals of this technique is to provide a practical process can be effectively applied in component-based application development.

VARIABILITY DESIGN TECHNIQUES FOR ENHANCING COMPONENT REUSABILITY

Components should provide variability in satisfying a variety of domains [1], but it is not easy to develop components which can be applied to all domains. For this reason, when using time-to-market, components are slow and reusability of the components decreases. Hence, providing the variability of components becomes an important prerequisite for a successful component-based application development project. In this paper, we propose a variability design technique that can satisfy the requirements of many different kinds of domains. This technique addresses a method for designing the variability of the behavior and the workflow in a more detailed manner, and uses an object-oriented mechanism and design patterns. One of the most important goals of this technique is to provide a practical method which can be effectively applied to component-based application development.

Visual Component Assembly and Tool Support Based on System

Component-based development leverages software reusability and reduces development costs. Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) is a component model developed to reduce the complexity of software development and to facilitate reuse of components. However, EJB does not support component assembly by a plug-and-play technique due to the hard-wired composition at the code level. To cope with this problem, an architecture for EJB component assembly is defined at the abstract level and the inconsistency between the system architecture and its implementation must be eliminated at the implementation level. We propose a component-based application development tool named the COBALT assembler that supports the design and implementation of EJB component assembly by a plug-and-play technique based on the architecture style. The system architecture is first defined by the Architecture Description Language (ADL). The wrapper code and glue code are then generated for the assembly. After the consistency between the architecture and its implementation is checked, the assembled EJB components are deployed in an application server as a new composite component. We use the COBALT assembler for a shopping mall system and demonstrate that it can promote component reuse and leverage the system maintainability.

Component-based development, CORBA and RM-ODP

As a means of maximising reuse, component-based application development is a laudable objective. CORBA is an influential component model already adopted by the computing industry. The nature of a typical CORBA development process is examined. There is a discussion of the requirements for a more complete component-based application development method, and focus on the shortcomings encountered when applying CORBA outside such a framework. The ISO RM-ODP standard is introduced, its relevance is highlighted, and the issue of reuse in relation to both CORBA and RM-ODP is reviewed. It is concluded that, in order to successfully model the business domain, component models such as CORBA need to be integrated into a component-based application development process which takes account of a broader context such as that provided by RM-ODP.