Descriptive and predictive aspects of the 3Cs model

Understanding the impact of language features on reusability

“…The previous work most similar in character to ours is the "3Cs" model [4, 7,211. Like ours, this is a conceptual model designed to foster better articulation and t o promote deeper insight about reuse and reusability.…”

Reusable software components

“…Subsequent elaboration by the members of the group at the Workshop on Methods and Tools for Reuse in June 1990 (Latour et al, 1990;Edwards, 1990;Tracz, 1990b) has given the "3C reference model" the potential to become the accepted basis for discourse on reusable software components among members of the reuse community. We adopt the model here in order to support this trend toward a much-needed common intellectual and terminological framework.…”

Opportunities for software reuse in an uncertain world: From past to emerging trends

“…The leader of the American delegation to that conference was Alan Perlis, another pioneer of software reuse who in 1987 coedited with Ted Biggerstaff the two‐volume Software Reusability, which effectively consecrated reuse as a formal discipline . Shortly after the publication of Software Reusability, a reference model for reuse known as the “3C model” was elaborated by a working group . It obtained its first broad exposure in a publication in 1991, where it was stated that “...the 3C reference model has the potential to become the accepted basis for discourse on reusable software components among members of the reuse community.”…”

“…The 3C model described in Figure defines and distinguishes three ideas: concept, content, and context. In the simplest terms, concept is a reusable component's specification, “what it is.” This has led to formal component specifications and much more. Early on the key idea emerged of separating the specification from the implementation, the Content “how it works.” The iconic example is a stack implemented variously as an array, a linked list, and so forth. Finally, the context indicates “how it is used.” The explosion of the Ariane 5 rocket back in the 1990s was a famous case of a software component from the Ariane 4 being reused in the wrong Context …”