A tool for reusable software component retrieval via normalized specifications

CASE tool for reusable software component storage and retrieval in rapid prototyping

Starting from the principle of software reusability through formal specifications, the authors suggest a model for the retrieval of reusable components utilizing the search techniques in database management systems. The formal specification language of software components is ASL. Component specifications will be translated into a specification written in the knowledge representation Telos for storage and other manipulation. The retrieval of software components is based on signature matching between the signatures of goal specifications and those of reusable components. In this way, the authors overcome some of the main problems with respect to retrieval such as representation of reusable components, representation of goal specification, and name differences in the software. The retrieval mechanism is supported by the database management system ConceptBase. >

The authors describe their research which improves software reuse by using an automated approach to semantically search for and retrieve reusable software components in large software component repositories and on the World Wide Web (WWW). Using automation and smart (semantic) techniques, their approach speeds up the search and retrieval of reusable software components, while retaining good accuracy, and therefore improves the affordability of software reuse.A program understanding of software components and natural language understanding of user queries was employed. Then the software component descriptions were compared by matching the resulting semantic representations of the user queries to the semantic representations of the software components to search for software components that best match the user queries.A proof of concept system was developed to test the authors' approach. The results of this proof of concept system were compared to human experts, and statistical analysis was performed on the collected experimental data. The results from these experiments demonstrate that this automated semantic‐based approach for software reusable component classification and retrieval is successful when compared to the labor‐intensive results from the experts, thus showing that this approach can significantly benefit software reuse classification and retrieval.

Automated assistance for software component reuse involves supporting retrieval, adaptation and verification of software components. The informality of feature-based software classification schemes is an impediment to formally verifying the reusability of a software component. The use of formal specifications to model and retrieve reusable components alleviates the informality, but the formal reasoning required for retrieval introduces questions of scalability. To provide scalability, current retrieval systems resort to syntactic classification at some level of abstraction, abandoning the semantic information provided by the specification. We propose a methodology that shifts the overhead of formal reasoning from the retrieval to the classification phase of reuse. Software components are classified using semantic features that are derived from their formal specification. Retrieval of functionally similar components can then be accomplished based on the stored feature sets. Formal verification can be applied to precisely determine the reusability of the set of similar components.

Each phase of software development life cycle has the potential for reuse. However, according to the viewpoint of cost and reusability, the design phase is the most suitable phase for packaging the reusable software components. In this paper, we describe the design component knowledge extraction and representation method for component retrieval. The design knowledge is based on the principle of structured design and object-oriented design. According to the valuable and clearly design component knowledge, we generate a rule-based system which contains the component matching rules and retrieval supporting rules. Using these rules not only can assist the potential reusers retrieve the more suitable design component but also can improve component retrieval performance.

The use of CAPS (computer-aided prototyping system) for the interactive construction, execution, debugging, modification, and control of software prototypes is presented. The current version of CAPS is discussed, its user interface for monitoring and coordinating the prototype development process is explicated, and the functioning of each of the integrated software tools is shown. CAPS has demonstrated the potential as a significant time- and cost-saving tool in the development of software systems. The primary benefit of incorporating the user interface as part of CAPS is that it helps CAPS develop into a more powerful and advanced form. >

Using formal specifications to represent software components facilitates the determination of reusability because they more precisely characterize the functionality of the software, and the well-defined syntax makes processing amenable to automation. This paper presents an approach, based on formal methods, to the search, retrieval, and modification of reusable software components. From a two-tiered hierarchy of reusable software components, the existing components that are analogous to the query specification are retrieved from the hierarchy. The specification for an analogous retrieved component is compared to the query specification to determine what changes need to be applied to the corresponding program component in order to make it satisfy the query specification.

This paper describes a case study to determine whether computer-aided prototyping techniques provide a cost-effective means for re-engineering legacy software. The case study consists of developing an object-oriented modular architecture for the existing US Army Janus combat simulation system, and validating the architecture via an executable prototype using the Computer Aided Prototyping System (CAPS), a research tool developed at the Naval Postgraduate School. The case study showed that prototyping can be a valuable aid in the re-engineering of legacy systems, particularly in cases where radical changes to system conceptualization and software structure are needed. The CAPS system enabled us to do this with a minimal amount of coding effort.

The process of determining user requirements for software systems is often plagued with uncertainty, ambiguity, and inconsistency. Rapid prototyping offers an iterative approach to requirements engineering that can be used to alleviate some of the problems with communication and understanding. Since the systems development process is characterized by changing requirements and assumptions, involving multiple stakeholders with often differing viewpoints, it is beneficial to capture the justifications for the decisions in the development process in a structured manner. Thisdesign rationale captured during requirements engineering can be used in conjunction with the rapid prototyping process to support various stakeholders involved in systems development. CAPS (the Computer Aided Prototyping System) has been built to help software engineers rapidly construct prototypes of proposed software systems. REMAP (Representation and MAintenance of Process knowledge) provides a conceptual model and mechanisms to represent and reason with (design) rationale knowledge. In this paper, we describe how in the context of evolving requirements, the CAPS system augmented with REMAP helps firm up software requirements through iterative negotiations via examination of executable prototypes and reasoning with design rationale knowledge.

The growth of reuse and the advent of software repositories has led to the design of mechanisms to retrieve reusable assets. The most popular retrieval mechanisms, namely browsers, keyword searches, and multi-attribute searches offer limited precision in large domains or across domains. The use of formal algebraic specifications as search keys for reusable components leads to increased precision and forms the basis for future automated component integration. Components with real-time characteristics add another dimension to the search process. The paper proposes a method for retrieving reusable components using formal specifications with additional filters to find components that meet specific real-time criteria.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

A research on open CNC system based on architecture/component software reuse technology

This paper discusses an approach called Draco to the construction of software systems from reusable software parts. In particular we are concerned with the reuse of analysis and design information in addition to programming language code. The goal of the work on Draco has been to increase the productivity of software specialists in the construction of similar systems. The particular approach we have taken is to organize reusable software components by problem area or domain. Statements of programs in these specialized domains are then optimized by source-to-source program transformations and refined into other domains. The problems of maintaining the representational consistency of the developing program and producing efficient practical programs are discussed. Some examples from a prototype system are also given.

Using existing components to construct software systems has significant potential to improving software productivity and quality. A key problem in software component reuse is the selection of appropriate components for satisfying a given requirement. In this paper we define a component interface generality relation that provides a foundation for component selection. This generality relation, represented in terms of formal specifications, precisely captures the semantic obligations for an existing component to satisfy the requirements of a target system. The formal specifications facilitate the (semi-) automatic determination of the generality relation. We show how this generality relation has been used to determine the reusability of software components in a software architecture-based reuse and integration environment.

Modern component retrieval approaches are based on the context and domain of the software component in addition to using various classification and retrieval techniques like keyword search, attribute-based search and semantic search. This work proposes ontological retrieval framework for software components that makes the use of ontology for effective retrieval of components. Ontological component retrieval framework has been created to facilitate the users and developers to retrieve software components matching precisely to their needs. A well-framed set of queries ranging from little to specific knowledge about the component requirement has been used to validate the results.

An approach to the description of reusable software components is presented which is based on the algebraic specification of abstract data types. Reusable components are described by an extension of the specification language ASL, which contains features for hierarchical structuring, parameterization, encapsulation of components, extension by enrichment, export-import interfaces, abstraction from the observable behavior, and the combination of components. Simple examples of ASL specifications are given, a notion of implementation is presented, and a few transformations of specifications are shown. A reusable component consists of tree formal specifications where a specification is a child of another specification if it is an implementation. Every node of the tree is itself a structured specification. In contrast to other approaches to software reusability these trees are considered as objects of the language and can be constructed and manipulated by operators of the language. >