From reuse library experiences to application generation architectures

Abstract

Reuse through application generators has been successful in the area of programming language systems. We analyzed three language system projects that realized transition from the initial ad hoc programs, through libraries of reusable modules to application generator solutions. We tried to understand the underlying thinking process and technical factors that made such a transition possible. Based on this study, we generalized reuse experiences gained in the language system domain and formulated a reuse implementation framework. Our framework is to facilitate transition from component-based reuse to application generators in other domains. Ultimately, we hope our framework will offer reuse implementation guidelines for companies to realize such a transition. Initial findings are described in this paper.