On the architecture of software component systems

Current object-oriented development practice is centered around application frameworks. In this paper, we argue that this approach is misleading, as it distracts from the ultimate goal of composing software out of "software components" originating from different sources. In particular, we suggest a model of software composition that is based on passing of "first-class messages" rather than on inheritance. In most object-oriented programming languages, messages and the methods that get executed in response to receiving them are only "second class citizens". In these languages, one can send a message to an object, but one cannot further manipulate the message itself as a data object. As a consequence, many of the operations that a naive observer might expect to be available are in fact not usually offered. Examples of such missing operations are the ability to store arriving messages in a data structure and execute them asynchronously later, perhaps in a di...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1998
• Where: IFIP
• Authors: M. Franz
• Keywords: Current Object-oriented Development, First-class Messages, IFIP 1998, Object-oriented Programming Languages, Programming Languages