Background

IBM FSC as part of ARPA Domain-Specific Software Architecture Program has been actively pursueing the developement of tools and processes to support the generation and application of software architectures. One of the major focusses of this effort has been the creation of a ``design record''. The purpose of a design record is to serve as a vehicle for software understanding by functioning as a collection point for domain-specific knowledge about the components that make up a Domain-Specific Software Architecture (DSSA). ADAGE design records play a central role in 1) describing the avionics domain-specific software architecture and 2) integrating the tools that comprise the ADAGE environment.

Two points merit distinction in their bearing on the design record:

1. the contents of the ADAGE Component Design Record (i.e., its ``data elements'') are patterned after those initially proposed by Bill Scherlis in [#!Scherlis90!#].
2. While a design record serves as a collection point for:
   • domain-specific knowledge about components or design alternatives and
   • implementation-specific knowledge about alternate implementations,
   it does not provide information about their application, instantiation, or configuration. This type of information, though similar in nature, is part of an application's design history.