Chapter 4

Component Models and Technology

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Overview

 Introduction
 ACME Architectural Description Language
 Java Bean Component Model
 COM, DCOM, MTS and COM+
 CORBA Component Model (CCM)
 .NET Component Model
 OSGI Component Model

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Introduction

 A Short Historical Perspective

 Component Interface and Connections
 Performing Services Transparently

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
A Short Historical Perspective

 Programming languages, can be seen from either

 The run-time point of view or,
 The design and reuse perspective

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Component Interface and Connections

 ADLs primarily address the issues related to the early

phases of software engineering:
 Design
 Analysis
 They identify a number of concepts, such as:
 Architecture, configurations, connectors, bindings,
properties, hierarchical models, style, static analysis and
behavior.

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
 Component Interactions

Iteractions with
traditional software entities Traditional
software
entities
Interactions Interactions
with with
Components
other other
components components
Component
Infrastructure
Interactions with
component infrastructure

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Majors steps in CBD lifecycle
Aspect Phase Actor
Interface Definition Designer

Assembly Assembly Architect

Implementation Implementation Developer

Lifecycle Packaging, Administrator

Deployment

Framework, Execution End User

run-time support

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Performing Services Transparently

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
ACME Architectural Description Language

 Components and Ports

 Connectors and Roles
 Systems and Attachments
 Representations and Bindings
 Properties, Constraints, Types and Styles

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Components and Ports

 Components
 Represent the computational elements and data stores
of a system.
 Ports
 Are the points of interaction between a component and
its environment.

Component
Port

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Connectors and Roles

 Connectors
 Represent interactions between components such as
method calls or an SQL connection between a client and
a database server.
 The interface of a connector is defined as a set of roles

Connector
Role

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Systems and Attachments

 The structure of a system is specified by a set of

components, a set of connectors, and a set of
attachments.
 Attachment
 Links a component port to a connector role.

Attachement

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Representations and Bindings

Component
Connector
Port
Role
Attachement
Binding

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Java Bean Component Model

 Key Features
 Interface of a Component
 Implementation of a Component
 Components Assembly
 Packaging and Deployment

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Key Features

 Bean Box
 "A Java Bean is a reusable software component that can
be manipulated visually in a builder tool”.
 The Java Bean was designed for the construction of
graphical user interface (GUI).
 Explicitly tailored to interact in two different contexts:
 At composition time, within the builder tool.
 At execution time, with the runtime environment.

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Interface of a Component

 This model defines four types of port:

 methods,
 properties,
 event sources and
 event sinks called listeners.
Property ro Read-only property
Method wo Write-only property
Event source 1 Unicast event source
Event sink (listener)
Bounded property

v Vetoable property

Ports

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Implementation of a Component

 Most bean components are implemented by a simple

Java object, the object being encapsulated in the
component, but there are more sophisticated
implementations possible.
 Wrapping a legacy object.
 Multiple-objects implementation.
 Dependency on traditional entities.

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Implementations of Bean Components

Object
Method
Method call
Binding

A simple implementation A more complex implementation

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Components Assembly

 Assembly is one of the key features of Java Bean

though no not specific solution is provided.
 Different ways of assembling components are supplied.

Component-based assembly Heterogeneous assembly

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Packaging and Deployment

 Java Beans define a model for packaging components

into archives.
 Includes the definition of dependency relationships
between the package items.
 The customization code can be more complex than the
component itself!
 Each package item can be marked "Design Only", so
that they can be removed in a final application.

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
COM, DCOM, MTS and COM+

 Interfaces and Assembly

 Implementation
 Framework
 Lifecycle

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Interfaces and Assembly

 A COM interface is seen as a C++ virtual class and takes

the form of a list of data and function declarations
without associated code.
 All interfaces are descendants of the IUnknown
interface.

Interface

Component interface Component implementation

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Implementation

 A COM object is a piece of binary code, written in any

programming language, as long as the compiler
generates code following the binary interoperability
convention.

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Framework

 Standard interfaces
 A simple run-time

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Lifecycle

 COM, and COM+ are strictly execution time and binary

component models.
 No lifecycle issues are explicitly supported.

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
CORBA Component Model (CCM)

 Interface and Assembly

 Framework : The Container Approach
 Lifecycle

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Interface and Assembly

 A component interface is made of ports divided into:

 Facets
 Receptacles
 Event sources
 Event sinks
Attribute
Facet
Receptacle Segment

Event source
Event sink

Component interface Ports Component implementation

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Framework : The Container Approach

 Services can be made available to components without

having to change that component’s source code.

container

CCM run-time infrastrucure

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Lifecycle

 CCM is the best effort to date:

 To gather the advances made in different fields,
 To include a wide spectrum of lifecycle activities, while
still claiming efficiency and heterogeneity capabilities,
 However, the whole does not provide the feeling of
being as “simple” as claimed.

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
.NET Component Model

 Interfaces and Assembly

 Implementation
 Framework
 Lifecycle

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Interfaces and Assembly

 programming language approach for component

programming.
 The program contains the information related to the
relationships with other “components”, and that the
compiler is responsible for generating the information
needed at execution.
 There is no explicit concept of connection but rather the
traditional list of imported and exported resources.

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Implementation

 A component (assembly) is made of modules, which are

traditional executable files (DLL).
 Modules cannot be assemblies, thus the .NET model is
not hierarchical.

Attribute
Method
Event source
Event source Modules

Component interface Ports Component implementation

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Framework

 .NET relies on the traditional programming approach :

the framework is seen as the language run-time support.
 Transaction control relies on MTS.

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Lifecycle

 Assemblies (and their modules) are local to an

application, and thus different DLLs with same name
can run simultaneously.
 Each assembly has a versioning information about itself
and about the assemblies it depends on.
 Version control is delegated to the dynamic loader,
which selects the “right” version.
 Significantly improve the application packaging and
deployment.
 Early lifecycles phases do not seem to have received
much attention.

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
OSGI Component Model

 Components
 Interface of a Bundle Component
 Assembly of Bundle Components
 Implementation of a Bundle Component

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Components

 A bundle use three kinds of ports to express its

interactions with
 Traditional technology
 Other components
 The run-time environment
 Bundles may listen to events published by the
framework such as the insertion of a new component in
a system.

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Interface of a Bundle Component

Package export
static
Package import

Service interface
dynamic
Service use

Interface of a bundle component Ports

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Assembly of Bundle Components

 A system is an evolving set of bundle components.

 A bundle component publishes a service interface
 It can attach to it a set of properties describing its
characteristics.
 A component requires an interface for its use,
 It will select one via a query expression based on these
properties.
 This flexibility also has its counterpart
 There is no guarantee than the service will continue to
be available

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology
Implementation of a Bundle Component

 JAR archive containing: 

 Service components
 Java packages
 Other resources files

Package

Resource

Service component

Activator

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Chapter 4 - Component Models and Technology