Mechanisms for integration and enhancement of software components

Integration of software components is a major issue in the development of software systems. Integration can be approached from different perspectives including infrastructures (middleware) and the characteristics of individual components which might support integration. The paper concentrates on integration mechanisms which a given component might enjoy. A major portion of the paper looks at application programming interfaces (APIs) which provide the most complete range of integration possibilities. The various dimensions of APIs are analyzed in this portion. Also discussed are internal programming languages, filters, modification of internal component files and shared repositories. Component enhancement techniques are mentioned in places because they are so intertwined with integration. It is necessary to understand a wide range of component integration properties in detail in order to make intelligent evaluation of components.