Unfortunately, reusable components are often based on different conceptual models of behavior. The model underlying the specification of one module's parameter requirements may significantly differ from the model underlying the specification of another module's exported features, even if the two modules intuitively seem compatible. There is no well understood groundwork of common models for component interaction, and the lack of guidelines for applying these models exacerbate the composability problem. This paper will describe how varying interface models and techniques for describing a component's interface requirements affect composability. These problems will be illustrated in the context of common interface properties that are exhibited even in simple ADT components.
Keywords:
component reuse,
module composition,
intensional and extensional interfaces,
modeling interface behavior.