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A framework for classifying and comparing architecture description languages

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Software Engineering — ESEC/FSE'97 (ESEC 1997, SIGSOFT FSE 1997)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 1301))

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Abstract

Software architectures shift developers' focus from lines-of-code to coarser-grained architectural elements and their 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 ADL 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.

This material is based upon work sponsored by the Air Force Materiel Command, Rome Laboratory, and the Advanced Research Projects Agency under contract number F30602-94C-0218. The content of the information does not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Government and no official endorsement should be inferred.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Information and Computer Science, University of California, Irvine, 92697-3425, Irvine, California, USA

    Nenad Medvidovic & Richard N. Taylor

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  1. Nenad Medvidovic
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Mehdi Jazayeri Helmut Schauer

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Medvidovic, N., Taylor, R.N. (1997). A framework for classifying and comparing architecture description languages. In: Jazayeri, M., Schauer, H. (eds) Software Engineering — ESEC/FSE'97. ESEC SIGSOFT FSE 1997 1997. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1301. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-63531-9_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-63531-9_7

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