Connecting Incompatible Black-Box Components Using Customizable Adapters

Extended Abstract

The highly promising idea of building complex software systems from readymade components [5,4] is challenged by the fact that in the field of software where information exchange between components can take exceptionally complex forms, it is not feasible to produce binary off-the-shelf components to suit the requirements of every possible application in an optimum manner. Similarly it is impossible to develop protocols to describe every type of component-set cooperation. Consequently, extra coding is usually necessary to compensate for the inevitable interface mismatches. A straightforward solution is to access an incompatible component through another component, called an adapter which converts its interface into a form desirable by a particular client [2].