Active component driven solutions
Nearly everything found on the web is component based, whether it is XML data or third party software. An EC funded project EASYCOMP has developed a means by which these elements can be easily composed into active components. This allows both end users and software developers to exercise the scope for off-the-shelf development providing the reuse of components and the increase of productivity. It also allows for both flexible and powerful integration of software. EASYCOMP has seen the specification, design and realisation of a dynamic composition tool; the ECDyn platform. Operating on a run-time platform the technology implements an event-based Aspect Component Composition. Thus, utilising the platform within a well-controlled development process allows for the speedy prototyping of functional and non-functional requirements. The direct benefits of this technology are that the development processes is sped up without loss of development control. Furthermore, the design also allows separating issues of business rules and functional processes, thus accommodating traceablility issues. The ECDyn platform has been tested with project partners both to provide new classes of services for the platform as well as a tool to support the EASYCOMP process. From a developer's perspective this mitigates the trade off between process control and risk management.
