A classification and comparison framework for software architecture description languages

Abstract

Member, IEEE Computer Society AbstractÐSoftware architectures shift the focus of developers from lines-of-code to coarser-grained architectural elements and their overall interconnection structure. Architecture description languages (ADLs) have been proposed as modeling notations to support architecture-based development. There is, however, little consensus in the research community on what is an ADL, what aspects of an architecture should be modeled in an ADL, and which of several possible ADLs is best suited for a particular problem. Furthermore, the distinction is rarely made between ADLs on one hand and formal specification, module interconnection, simulation, and programming languages on the other. This paper attempts to provide an answer to these questions. It motivates and presents a definition and a classification framework for ADLs. The utility of the definition is demonstrated by using it to differentiate ADLs from other modeling notations. The framework is used to classify and compare several existing ADLs, enabling us, in the process, to identify key properties of ADLs. The comparison highlights areas where existing ADLs provide extensive support and those in which they are deficient, suggesting a research agenda for the future.

(Behavioural) Design Patterns as Composition Operators

“…In current software component models [19], components are either objects or architectural units. Exemplars of these models are EJB [4] and ADLs (architecture description languages) [21] respectively. An object normally does not have an interface, i.e.…”

Embedded Architecture Description Language

“…There have been much research on both hardware, software, and embedded systems architecture description languages (ADLs) (see [16,9] for their comprehensive surveys). Among those ADLs, the most closely related are SAE AADL [12], Metropolis [13], and Ptolemy [7].…”

Modeling Composition in Dynamic Programming Environments with Model Transformations

“…The majority of existing architecture description languages (ADL) focus a static view on configurations [14]. Only a few ADLs, such as Rapide [12], support both static and dynamic views on the architecture, but do not support (dynamic) structure or behavior modification.…”