The CoSi component model: Reviving the black-box nature of components

Abstract

Many component models and frameworks have been created since the advent of component-based software engineering. While they all claim to follow fundamental component principles, the black-box nature in particular, a deeper look reveals surprising problems mainly in the component models built into the mainstream frameworks. In this paper we elaborate on these fundamental principles, analyse a selection of industrial and research component models in light of them, and propose a component model named CoSi. Its aim is to address the problems uncovered by the analysis while keeping the good aspects of current state state of the art models. It supports OSGi-style lightweight components with a rich set of features, and puts a strong emphasis on facilitating component comprehension and application consistency. © 2008 Springer.