Component technologies: avoiding the herd mentality

Abstract

Component technology is gradually changing the way information systems are conceived, constructed, deployed, and used. Today's systems have limited flexibility and configurability, which makes them difficult to maintain over the many years that they are used. Components address these critical problems by allowing systems to be more dynamically composed of components, without extensive programming. Component technologies are being adapted for development of flexible user interfaces, and, more recently, for managing the business objects of the enterprise. Many information systems architects are optimistic about the benefits of component technology, but are afraid to rely on a single vendor or technology. The single vendor approach of the 1960s and 1970s simplified the task of delivering information systems but caused these systems to gradually become less advantageous and eventually restricting. Today's architects do not wish to re-learn these lessons with component technologies. These architects take little comfort in standards conformance and interoperability, which are difficult to achieve and do not directly deliver functionality to users. So often we hear of decisions made largely on the basis of what others have decided (e.g., referring to factors like "market penetration"), which might be called a herd mentality. The herd mentality is only appropriate for trying to predict market directions, which is dangerously difficult.