Connecting Incompatible Black-Box Components Using Customizable Adapters

The highly promising idea of building complex software systems from readymade components [5, 4] is challenged by the fact that in the eld of software where information exchange between components can take exceptionally complex forms, it is not feasible to produce binary o-the-shelf components to suit the requirements of every possible application in an optimum manner. Similarly it is impossible to develop protocols to describe every type of component-set cooperation. Consequently, extra coding is usually necessary to compensate for the inevitable interface mismatches. A straightforward solution is to access an incompatible component through another component, called an adapter which converts its interface into a form desirable by a particular client [2]. Traditionally a binary component is coupled with an interface de nition le and a set of examples illustrating the usage of the component through the interface. The adaptation of the component is usually done in an ad hoc manner through copying and pasting of these examples. Research e orts devoted t