Design and Implementation of a Framework for Configurable Software

摘要

Software systems are typically composed of numerous components, each of which isresponsible for a different function, e.g., one component may be responsible for remote communication, while another may provide a graphical user interface. Different implementation of a component may be possible, with each implementation tailored for a specific test of applications or environments. Configurable software systems are also important for a number of other reasons: additional components or modifications to those currently available, may be required. Software is often required to be configurable, enabling modifications to occur with minimal effect on existing users. To allow this configurability, components should only be available through interfaces that are clearly separated from their implementations, allowing users to be isolated from any implementation changes. This paper describes a model for constructing configurable software based upon this separation, and illustrates this with a software development system the authors have implemented which supports these ideas in C++.