(A) Component composition model for software evolution through dynamic, flexible, and hierarchical composition

Abstract

Component composition is one of the practical and effective approaches for supporting software evolution. However, existing component composition techniques need to be complemented by advanced features which address various sophisticated composition issues. In this thesis, we introduce a set of features that supports and manages dynamic as well as flexible composition of components in a controlled way. We also propose a component composition model that supports these features. The proposed model enables dynamic, flexible, and hierarchical composition of components by providing and manipulating dedicated composition information, which in turn increases reusability of components and capabilities for supporting software evolution. To show the benefits of our model concretely, we provide two case studies: Dynamic Testing Mobile Agents (DTMA) and Hotel Reservation System (HRS). The experimental results show that our model supports software evolution effectively and provides efficient and modular structures, refactoring, and collaboration-level extensions as well.