A semantic-based approach to component retrieval

Abstract
There continues to be a great deal of pressure to design and develop information systems within a short period of time. This urgency has reinvigorated research on software reuse, particularly in component based software development. One of the major problems associated with component-based development is the difficulty in searching and retrieving reusable components that meet the requirement at hand. In part, this problem exists because of the lack of sophisticated query methods and techniques. In this research, a semantic-based approach to component retrieval is presented as a solution to this problem. This approach makes use of domain models containing the objectives, processes, actions, actors, and, an ontology of domain terms, their definitions, and relationships with other domain-specific terms. A reuse repository is developed that contains the components relevant for the creation of new applications, along with their attributes and methods. The natural language interface, domain model, and reusable repository are implemented in a prototype that uses Web and JavaBeans technologies. A sample session is provided for an online auction application to illustrate the usefulness of the proposed approach.

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