The impact of component architectures on interoperability

Component interoperability has become an important concern as companies migrate legacy systems, integrate COTS products, and assemble modules from disparate sources into a single application. While middleware is available for this purpose, it often does not form a complete bridge between components and may be inflexible as the application evolves. What is needed is the explicit design information that will forecast a more accurate, evolvable, and less costly integration solution implementation. Emerging research has shown that interoperability problems can be traced to the software architecture of the components and integrated application. Furthermore, the solutions generated for these problems are guided by an implicit understanding of software architecture. Current technology does not fully identify what must be made explicit about software architecture to aid in comparison of the architectures and expectations of participating entities within the integrated application. Thus, there...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2002
• Where: JSS
• Authors: Leigh A. Davis, Rose F. Gamble, Jamie Payton
• Keywords: Explicit Design Information, Interoperability, JSS 2002, Software Architecture