| dc.description.abstract | The dream of building large software systems out of well-defined independent components is gradually coming true. Modem software systems are rarely developed entirely from scratch; rather they are constructed using tested and reliable pieces called components. Component Based Software Development (CBSD) still faces some major obstacles. One of these problems is composing the different components that make up a system. Interface Definition Language (lDL) plays a vital role in composing components. IDL is used to describe the contracts (interfaces) between the components of a system. Object Management Group (OMG) is a leader in defining standards for software components. One of the IDL standards is OMG IDL. This thesis reports a study of OMG IDL and the role it plays in component composition. One case study (a library system) was investigated using OMG IDL. The case study is introduced infonnally, then it is analyzed and designed as a component-based system, subsequently an OMG IDL is presented for the case study. The functional and extra functional properties of the system are then discussed. The following lessons and conclusions were learned from the case study. OMG IDL was originally designed to specify the functionality of the components of a system, but its function has been extended to compose the components together as well. Using the OMA standard servIces, CORBAservices helps control the extra-functional properties. The software designer should be knowledgeable about the standard components and services in the component model in order to use them when they are needed and not write them again. In the library system case study, it was not necessary to develop new Naming and Trading services, Transaction services, or Security services, and the OMA standard services were used instead. A good design is essential for a component system to succeed. It is hard to cover all parts of OMG IDL in one case study. Also, there is lack of standardized components in the general library system domain. | |
