Title: Software connector as software process

Authors: Ahcene Menasria; Mourad Oussalah; Abdelkrim Amirat; Halima Bahi

Addresses: Department of Computer Science, University Badji Mokhtar, Annaba 23000, Algeria ' LS2N Laboratory, University of Nantes, Nantes 44300, France ' Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University Mohammed Cherif Messaadia, Souk Ahras 41000, Algeria ' Department of Computer Science, University Badji Mokhtar, Annaba 23000, Algeria

Abstract: In component-based architectures, interest has often been focused on the component. Recent applications are becoming more and more communicative, often reaching equivalent proportions between the interactional and functional parts. This study is interested in explicit connectors by proposing a rich semantic connector to model and implement complex communications in heterogeneous environments. We present a new structure of the connector and model its behaviour through a software process. We no longer consider it as a software product or artefact but rather as a communication process. The connector is treated as a first-class entity with the same degree of citizenship as a component. This research concentrated on the motivations and benefits of first-class connectors and some connector-centric works to arrive at the proposed solution through a Meta-model illustrated by a case study using SPEM profile.

Keywords: software architecture; software process; software connector; meta-modelling; SPEM profile.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSPM.2021.122503

International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling, 2021 Vol.17 No.4, pp.231 - 249

Accepted: 26 Aug 2021
Published online: 28 Apr 2022 *

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