Component-based application architecture for enterprise information systems

The paradigm of reuse is a traditional concept of surviving for humanity that manifests itself in human languages. The words (components) will be taken out of a lexicon (repository) and then combined to sentences (applications) according to the rules of a specific syntax (grammar). The paper points out the parallels between the component-based approach of human languages on the one hand and component-based application-system design in the software-engineering discipline on the other hand. We describe some instruments (e.g., repositories, part lists) for managing component-based System design, and introduce a language-critical middleware framework supporting the development and processing of component-oriented e-commerce applications (e.g., an electronic marketplace for trading software components). Furthermore, we present a classification of component types and a component specification framework. The existence of standards and exchange forums (e.g., marketplaces) is - besides a sophisticated component and configuration theory - a substantial prerequisite for superior component-based application development and system life-cycle management.