A view on components

Components are nowadays considered the next step in information system development. Components are assumed to foster reuse and flexibility and to reduce the complexity of distributed deployment. This paper investigates the properties of components that determine whether the above goals are met. To that end, we explored the literature and had a number of interviews with representatives from tool vendors, tool users and software houses. The resulting views are summarized in this paper and applied to a small example. In our further research, the architecture sketched in this example will be worked out in further detail and compared with the architecture of similar systems found in industry. This will deepen our understanding and assessment of the architectural choices made.