Automated glue/wrapper code generation in integration of distributed and heterogeneous software components

Abstract

UniFrame is a framework to help organizations to build interoperable distributed computing systems. Using UniFrame, a new system is built by assembling predeveloped heterogeneous and distributed software components. UniFrame solves the heterogeneity problem by explicitly modeling the domain knowledge of various technology domains (component model domains, programming language domains, operating system platform domains, etc.), from which the interoperation generative domain model (IGDM) straddling the technology domains can be constructed. The glue/wrapper code that realizes the interoperation among the distributed and heterogeneous software components can be generated from the IGDM. An informal implementation in Java of glue/wrapper code generator is given, followed by a discussion on a formalization of IGDM. The formalism comes from the fact that if the family of glue/wrapper code can be modeled formally, an instance glue/wrapper code can be generated automatically. In this formalization, the IGDM is formally modeled as a language definition using a grammar; the code that realizes the interoperation is a valid sentence derivable from the grammar, and will be generated automatically from the IGDM during the assembly time.