Self-describing re-usable software components
First Claim
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1. A method for re-using a software component, the method comprising:
- publishing metadata for use in conjunction with a re-usable software component, the metadataidentifying one or more capabilities of the re-usable software component;
identifying one or more other software components with which the re-usable software component can be integrated; and
identifying one or more mechanisms for integrating the re-usable software component with the one or more other software components; and
integrating the re-usable software component and the one or more other software components based upon the metadata,wherein the metadata identifying one or more mechanisms for integrating the re-usable software component with the one or more other software components comprises metadata identifying one or more transformations for integrating the re-usable software component with the one or more other software components.
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Abstract
Technologies are presented herein for self-describing re-usable software components. Metadata is generated and published with a re-usable software component that identifies the capabilities of the software component, identifies other software components that the re-usable software component may be integrated with, and identifies mechanisms for integrating the re-usable software component with other software components. The metadata can then be used to discover re-usable software components and to integrate the re-usable software components with other software components.
34 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for re-using a software component, the method comprising:
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publishing metadata for use in conjunction with a re-usable software component, the metadata identifying one or more capabilities of the re-usable software component; identifying one or more other software components with which the re-usable software component can be integrated; and identifying one or more mechanisms for integrating the re-usable software component with the one or more other software components; and integrating the re-usable software component and the one or more other software components based upon the metadata, wherein the metadata identifying one or more mechanisms for integrating the re-usable software component with the one or more other software components comprises metadata identifying one or more transformations for integrating the re-usable software component with the one or more other software components. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for re-using a software component, the method comprising:
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specifying capability metadata for a re-usable software component, the capability metadata defining one or more capabilities of the re-usable software component; specifying affinity metadata for the re-usable software component, the affinity metadata identifying one or more data entities that the re-usable software component operates upon; specifying derivation metadata for the re-usable software component, the derivation metadata indicating whether the one or more data entities specified by the affinity metadata may be inherited from another data entity; specifying transformation metadata for the re-usable software component, the transformation metadata identifying one or more mechanisms for integrating the re-usable software component with one or more other software components; and utilizing the capability metadata, the affinity metadata, the derivation metadata, and the transformation metadata to integrate the re-usable software component and the one or more other software components. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A computer-readable medium not being a signal and having a data structure stored thereon, the data structure comprising:
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a first data field storing capability metadata for a re-usable software component, the capability metadata defining one or more capabilities of the re-usable software component; a second data field storing affinity metadata for the re-usable software component, the affinity metadata identifying one or more data entities that the re-usable software component operates upon; a third data field storing derivation metadata for the re-usable software component, the derivation metadata indicating whether the one or more data entities specified by the affinity metadata may be inherited from another data entity; and a fourth data field storing transformation metadata for the re-usable software component, the transformation metadata identifying one or more mechanisms for integrating the re-usable software component with one or more other software components. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification