Software Reuse

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 Objectives
• To explain the benefits of software reuse and some
reuse problems
• To discuss several different ways to implement
software reuse
• To explain how reusable concepts can be
represented as patterns or embedded in program
generators
• To discuss COTS reuse
• To describe the development of software product
lines

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 Topics covered
• The reuse landscape
• Design patterns
• Generator based reuse
• Application frameworks
• Application system reuse

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 Software reuse
• In most engineering disciplines, systems are
designed by composing existing components
that have been used in other systems.
• Software engineering has been more focused
on original development but it is now
recognised that to achieve better software,
more quickly and at lower cost, we need to
adopt a design process that is based on
systematic software reuse.

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Reuse-based software engineering
• Application system reuse
– The whole of an application system may be reused either
– by incorporating it without change into other systems (COTS reuse)
or
– by developing application families that have common architecture
• Component reuse
– Components of an application from sub-systems to single
objects may be reused
• Object and function reuse
– Software components that implement a single well-defined
object or function may be reused

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 Reuse benefits 1

Increased dependability Reused software, that has been tried and tested in working systems,
should be m ore dependable than new software. The initial use of the
software reveals any design and implementation faults. These are then
fixed, thus reducing the number of failures when the software is reused.
Reduced process risk If software exists, there is less uncertainty in the costs of reusing that
software than in the costs of development. This is an important factor
for project management as it reduces the margin of error in project cost
estimation. This is particularly true when relatively large software
components such as sub-systems are reused.
Effective use of specialists Instead of application specialists doing the same work on different
projects, these specialists can develop reusable software that
encapsulate their knowledge.

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 Reuse benefits 2

Standards compliance Some standards, such as user interface standards, can be

implemented as a set of standard reusable components. For
example, if menus in a user interfaces are implemented using
reusable components, all applications present the same menu
formats to users. The use of standard user interfaces improves
dependability as users are less likely to make mistakes when
presented with a familiar interface.
Accelerated development Bringing a system to market as early as possible is o ften more
important than overall development costs. Reusing software can
speed up system production because both development and
validation time should be reduced.

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 Reuse problems 1

Increased maintenance If the source code of a reused software system or component is n ot

costs available then maintenance costs may be increased as the reused
elements of the system may become increasingly incompatible with
system changes.
Lack of tool support CASE toolsets may not support development with reuse. It may be
difficult or impossible to integrate these tools with a component
library system. The software process assumed by these tools may not
take reuse into account.
Not-invented-here Some software engineers sometimes prefer to re-write components as
syndrome they believe that they can improve on the reusable component. This is
partly to do with trust and partly to do with the fact that writing
original software is s een as more challenging than reusing other
peopleÕs software.

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 Reuse problems 2

Creating and maintaining a Populating a reusable component library and ensuring the software
component library developers can use this library can be expensive. Our current techniques
for classifying, cataloguing and retrieving software components are
immature.
Finding, understanding and Software components have to be discovered in a library, understood and,
adapting reusable components sometimes, adapted to work in a n ew environment. Engineers must be
reasonably confident of finding a component in the library before they will
make routinely include a component search as part of their normal
development process.

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 5.1 The reuse landscape
• Although thought of reuse as the reuse of
system components, there are many different
approaches to reuse that may be used.
• Reuse is possible at a range of levels from
simple functions to complete application
systems
• The reuse landscape covers the range of
possible reuse techniques

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 The reuse landscape

Design
patterns

Component Application
frameworks product lines Aspect-oriented
software development
Component-based COTS Program
development integ ration generators
Legacy sy stem
wrapping
Configurable ver tical
applications
Service-oriented
sy stems
Program
libraries

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 Reuse approaches 1

Design patterns Generic abstractions that occur across applications are

represented as design patterns that show abstract and concrete
objects and interactions.
Component-based Systems are developed by integrating components
development (collections of objects) that conform to component-model
standards. This is covered in Chapter 19.
Application Collections of abstract and concrete classes that can be
frameworks adapted and extended to create ap plication systems.
Legacy system Legacy systems (see Chapter 2) that can be ŌwrappedÕ by
wrapping defining a set of interfaces and providing access to these
legacy sys tems through these interfaces.
Service-oriented Systems are developed by linking shared services that may be
systems externally provided.

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 Reuse approaches 2

Application product An application type is generalised around a common

lines architecture so that it can be adapted in different ways for
different customers.
COTS integration Systems are developed by integrating existing application
systems.
Configurable vertical A generic system is designed so that it can be configured to
applications the needs of specific system customers.
Program libraries Class and function libraries implementing commonly-used
abstractions are available for reuse.
Program generators A generator system embeds knowledge of a particular types
of application and can generate systems or system fragments
in that domain.
Aspect-oriented Shared components are woven into an application at different
software development places when the program is compiled.

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 Reuse planning factors
• The development of schedule for the software
• The expected software lifetime
• The background, skills and experience of the
development team
• The criticality of the software and its non-
functional requirements
• The application domain
• The execution platform for the software

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 Concept reuse
• When you reuse program or design components, you have
to follow the design decisions made by the original
developer of the component.
• This may limit the opportunities for reuse
• However, a more abstract form of reuse is concept reuse
when a particular approach is described in an
implementation independent way and an implementation
is then developed
• The two main approaches to concept reuse are:
– Design patterns;
– Generative programming.

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 5.2 Design patterns
• A design pattern is a way of reusing abstract
knowledge about a problem and its solution
• A pattern is a description of the problem and
the essence of its solution
• It should be sufficiently abstract to be reused
in different settings
• Patterns often rely on object characteristics
such as inheritance and polymorphism

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 Pattern elements
There are four essential elements of the design patterns:
• Name
– A name that is a meaningful reference to the pattern
• Problem description.
– Description of the problem & explains what patterns may
be applied.
• Solution description.
– Not a concrete design but a template for a design solution
that can be instantiated in different ways.
• Consequences
– The results and trade-offs of applying the pattern
– Helps the designer to understand whether a pattern can
be effectively applied in particular situation
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 Multiple displays-
two graphical presentation of the same data set

50
D
A
C 25
A B C D
B 0

Subj ect

Observer 1 A: 40 Observer 2
B: 25
C: 15
D: 20

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 The Observer pattern
• Name
– Observer.
• Description
– Separates the display of object state from the object itself & allows
alternative displays to be provided.
– When object state changes, all displays are automatically notified &
updated to reflect the change
• Problem description
– Used when multiple displays of state are needed e.g. Graphical display,
tabular display etc.
• Solution description
– See slide with UML description. This defines two abstract objects - Subject
& the Observer & two concrete objects- ConcreteSubject &
ConcreteObject
• Consequences
– Optimisations to enhance display performance are impractical because
subject only knows abstract Observer & does not know the detail concrete
class. https://genuinenotes.com
The Observer pattern

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 5.3 Generator-based reuse
• Program generators involve the reuse of
standard patterns and algorithms
• Here, reusable knowledge is captured in a program generator
system
• Which can be programmed by domain experts using either by
domain oriented language or interactive CASE tool
• The application description specifies, in an abstract way, which
reusable components are to be used &
• How they are combined to an parameterization
• Using this information , a software system is then automatically
generated
• Generator-based reuse is possible when domain abstractions and
their mapping to executable code can be identified
• A domain specific language is used to compose and control these
abstractions

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 Types of program generator
• Types of program generator
– Application generators for business data processing
– Parser and lexical analyser generators for language
processing --Generator input is a grammar describing
language to be parsed, & output is a language parser ;
– Code generators in CASE tools –input s/w design & o/p
a program
• Generator-based reuse is very cost-effective but its
applicability is limited to a relatively small number of
application domains
• It is easier for end-users to develop programs using generators
compared to other component-based approaches to reuse

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Reuse through program generation

Application
Program gener ator Generated pr ogram
description

Application domain
Database
kno wledge

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 Aspect-oriented development
• Aspect-oriented development addresses a major software
engineering problem - the separation of concerns
• Separation of concern is a basic design principle – designing a
s/w so that each unit or component does just one thing only.
• However, in many situations, it is not possible but components
are cross-cutting
• Cross-cutting concerns are implemented as aspects and are
dynamically woven into a program
• Within a program we define where the aspect should be
associated called join points
• Aspects are developed separately
• In a precompilation step called aspect weaving , they are linked
to join points.(shown in fig below)
• Aspect weaving is a form of program generation-o/p of the
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weaver is a program where aspect code is integrated
 Aspect-oriented development

Aspect 1 Aspect 2

Generated code
Input source code
Aspect <statements 1>
<statements 1> Weaver Aspect 1
j oin point 1
<statements 2>
<statements 2>
Aspect 2
j oin point 2
<statements 3>
<statements 3>

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 5.4 Application frameworks
• Objects are often too fine grain & specific to particular
application
• However, reusing is difficult in such case
• Thus, OO reuse is best supported in OO development
process through large grain abstractions called framework.
• Frameworks are a sub-system design made up of a
collection of abstract and concrete classes and the
interfaces between them.
• The sub-system is implemented by adding components to
fill in parts of the design and by instantiating the abstract
classes in the framework.
• Frameworks are moderately large entities that can be
reused.

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 Framework classes
• System infrastructure frameworks
– Support the development of system infrastructures
such as communications, user interfaces and
compilers.
• Middleware integration frameworks
– Standards and classes that support component
communication and information exchange. E.g.
CORBA
• Enterprise application frameworks
– Support the development of specific types of
application such as telecommunications or financial
systems.
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 Classes of Framework
• System infrastructure framework
– Supports development of infrastructure
– e.g. communication, UI etc.
• Middleware integration framework
– Consists of set of standards & associated object
classes that support component communications
e.g. CORBA
• Enterprise application framework
– Concerned with specific application domains
– e.g. telecom, financial systems
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 Extending frameworks
• Frameworks are generic and are extended to create a
more specific application or sub-system.
• Extending the framework involves
– Adding concrete classes that inherit operations
from abstract classes in the framework;
– Adding methods that are called in response to
events that are recognised by the framework.
• Problem with frameworks is their complexity which
means that it takes a long time to use them
effectively.
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Framework Example for GUI design
Model-view controller
• System infrastructure framework for GUI design.
• Allows for multiple presentations of an object and
separate style of interactions with each of these
presentations.
• MVC supports presentations of data in differrent
ways & separate interaction with each of these
presentations.
• When data is modified through one of the
presentations, all of the other are updated.
• MVC framework involves the instantiation of a
number of patterns (as discussed earlier under
concept reuse). https://genuinenotes.com
 Model-view-controller

User Controller state view modification View state

inputs messages

Controller methods View methods

Model queries
and updates
Model edits
Model state

Model methods

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 5.5 Application system reuse
• Involves the reuse of entire application
systems either by configuring a system for an
environment or by integrating two or more
systems to create a new application.
• Two approaches covered here:
– COTS product integration;
– Product line development.

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 COTS product reuse
COTS - Commercial Off-The-Shelf systems
• A software system that can be used without change
by its buyer
• COTS systems are usually complete application
systems that offer an API (Application Programming
Interface)
• Building large systems by integrating COTS systems is
now a viable development strategy for some types of
system such as E-commerce systems
• The key benefit is faster application development
and, usually, lower development costs
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 COTS design choices
To develop systems using COTS products, one have to
make number of design choices
• Which COTS products offer the most appropriate
functionality?
– There may be several similar products that may be
used.
• How will data be exchanged?
– Individual products use their own data structures
and formats.
• What features of the product will actually be used?
– Most products have more functionality than is
needed. You should try to deny access to unused
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 E-procurement system

Client

Web browser E-mail sy stem

Ser ver

E-commerce Ordering and

Adaptor
sy stem invoicing sy stem

E-mail sy stem Adaptor

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 COTS products reused
• On the client, standard e-mail and web browsing
programs are used.
• On the server, an e-commerce platform has to be
integrated with an existing ordering system.
– This involves writing an adaptor so that they can
exchange data.
– An e-mail system is also integrated to generate e-mail
for clients.
– This also requires an adaptor to receive data from the
ordering and invoicing system.

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COTS system integration problems
• Lack of control over functionality and performance
– COTS systems may be less effective than they appear
• Problems with COTS system inter-operability
– Different COTS systems may make different assumptions that
means integration is difficult
• No control over system evolution
– COTS vendors not system users control evolution
• Support from COTS vendors
– COTS vendors may not offer support over the lifetime of the
product

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 Software product lines
• Software product lines or application families are
applications with generic functionality that can be
adapted and configured for use in a specific context
• In other words, it is a set of applications with
common application-specific architecture where
each specific architecture is specialized in some way
• Adaptation may involve:
– Component and system configuration;
– Adding new components to the system;
– Selecting from a library of existing components;
– Modifying components to meet new
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requirements.
 COTS product specialisation
• Platform specialisation
– Different versions of the application are developed for different
platforms.
• Environment specialisation
– Different versions of the application are created to handle different
operating environments e.g. different types of communication
equipment.
• Functional specialisation
– Different versions of the application are created for customers with
different requirements.
• Process specialisation
– Different versions of the application are created to support
different business processes.

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 COTS configuration
• Deployment time configuration
– A generic system is configured by embedding
knowledge of the customer’s requirements and
business processes. The software itself is not
changed.
• Design time configuration
– A common generic code is adapted and changed
according to the requirements of particular
customers.

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Enterprise Resource Planning
system organization
Configuration
planning tool

Generic ERP sy stem

Configuration
database

Sy stem database

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 ERP systems
• The generic ERP system includes large number of
modules that may be composed in different ways to
create specific system.
• An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is a
generic system that supports common business
processes such as ordering and invoicing,
manufacturing, etc.
• These are very widely used in large companies - they
represent probably the most common form of software
reuse.
• The generic core is adapted by including modules and
by incorporating knowledge of business processes and
rules.

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 Design time configuration
• Software product lines that are configured at
design time are instantiations of generic
application architectures.
• Generic products usually emerge after
experience with specific products.

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 Product line architectures
• Architectures must be structured in such a
way to separate different sub-systems and to
allow them to be modified.
• The architecture should also separate entities
and their descriptions and the higher levels in
the system access entities through
descriptions rather than directly.

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A resource management system

User i nterface

User Resource Query

authenti cati on del i very management

Resource Resource pol i cy Resource

management control al l ocati on

Transacti on management
Resource database

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 Vehicle despatching
• A specialised resource management system where the aim is to
allocate resources (vehicles) to handle incidents.
• Adaptations include:
– At the UI level, there are components for operator display and
communications;
– At the I/O management level, there are components that handle operator
authentication, generate reports of incidents and vehicles dispatch,
support map output and route planning;
– At the resource management level, there are components that allows
vehicles to be located and despatched, managing vehicle status and
incident logging;
– The database includes equipment, vehicle and map databases.

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 A despatching system

User i nterface Comms system

i nter face

Operator Map and route Repor t Query

authenti cati on pl anner generator manager

Vehi cl e status Inci dent Vehi cl e Equi pment Vehi cl e

manager l ogger despatcher manager l ocator

Transacti on management Inci dent l og

Equi pment
database
Vehi cl e database Map database

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 Product instance development-
adapting an application family to create new application

Renegotiate
requirements
Elicit Choose
stakeholder closest-fit
requirements family member
Adapt existing Deliver new
sy stem family member

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 Product instance development
• Elicit stakeholder requirements
– Use existing family member as a prototype
• Choose closest-fit family member
– Find the family member that best meets the requirements
• Re-negotiate requirements
– Adapt requirements as necessary to capabilities of the software
• Adapt existing system
– Develop new modules and make changes for family member
• Deliver new family member
– Document key features for further member development

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 Key points
• Advantages of reuse are lower costs, faster software
development and lower risks.
• Design patterns are high-level abstractions that document
successful design solutions.
• Program generators are also concerned with software reuse -
the reusable concepts are embedded in a generator system.
• Application frameworks are collections of concrete and abstract
objects that are designed for reuse through specialisation.

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 Key points
• COTS product reuse is concerned with the reuse of large, off-the-
shelf systems.
• Problems with COTS reuse include lack of control over
functionality, performance, and evolution and problems with
inter-operation.
• ERP systems are created by configuring a generic system with
information about a customer’s business.
• Software product lines are related applications developed
around a common core of shared functionality.

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