An architectural model for small-scale component-oriented frameworks

Abstract

Frameworks are an important form of reuse. However, they are often complex and hard to understand, what limits their success as a reuse option. To answer this problem, it has been widely recognized the need to effectively communicate frameworks and provide appropriate tool support, but difficulties still endure. We argue that the properties of frameworks are another aspect that is decisive for reuse problems and has not been sufficiently explored. We discuss these issues and we propose a framework architectural model that can be used to design frameworks that are easier to reuse.