Larry Latour, University of Maine, Orono
larry@gandalf.umcs.maine.edu
Ira Baxter, Schlumberger
baxter@austin.slcs.slb.com
An important idea for reuse of design is:
Generic Architecture: a system of components with rules specifying consistent compositions.
Such architectures can be used to implement instance systems by choosing compatible components, and combining them by using the composition mechanism implied by the rule structures. These architectures are especially useful when supported by tools to manage the selection and composition of components.
The working group met with the initial intention of determining sets of features and mechanisms useful for constructing systems from generic architectures. Discussion led the group to examine several real systems built by some of the group participants, with the hopes that identifiable concepts would emerge. Further examination suggested that the composition mechanisms themselves were crucial, and therefore interesting to examine in detail. The results of this examination appear in the sequel in the discussion on refinements.
The systems considered were: