Beyond Objects: Components 1

Abstract. Traditional software development approaches do not cope well with the evolving requirements of open systems. We argue that such systems are best viewed as flexible compositions of “software components ” designed to work together as part of a component framework that formalizes a class of applications with a common software architecture. To enable such a view of software systems, we need appropriate support from programming language technology, software tools, and methods. We will briefly review the current state of object-oriented technology, insofar as it supports component-oriented development, and propose a research agenda of topics for further investigation. 3