Towards an algebra of architectural connectors:A case study on synchronization for mobility

To cope with the flexibility and extensibility needed for the specification of the architecture of evolving software systems, it is useful to have a set of primitive connectors from which new ones can be created in a systematic way as needs arise and to connect components only when they are required to interact. This could be achieved with a connector algebra whose constants are given primitive connectors and whose operations allow the (transient) creation of new connectors. This paper is a step towards that goal. We put forward an application-independent connector for partial action synchronization and three generic operations. Applied to the basic connector, they provide applicationspecific connectors for inhibition and full synchronization of actions. Moreover, we associate to each connector a condition stating when it should be applied to components., Grant: This work was partially supported by JNICT through contracts PRAXIS XXI 2/2.1/MAT/46/94 (ESCOLA) and PRAXIS XXI 2/2.1/TIT/1662/95 (SARA) and by EQUITEL SA through project ARTS.