Barriers to Software Reuse and the Projected Impact of World Wide Web on Software Reuse

Software reuse has received much attention since the concept was introduced in 1968. Software reuse itself is a broad concept that has many levels of meaning, ranging from strict code reuse, to design/analysis reuse, to entire application reuse. Many companies, especially those in the defense and aerospace fields, have setup successful reuse programs. However, not all reuse programs are successful. There is an array of technical and non-technical barriers to successful reuse. Some of the barriers are rooted in communications and awareness issues. The World Wide Web (WWW) is a successful mechanism for addressing communications, distribution, and awareness issues and has first and second order impacts on the barriers to reuse. WWW is also the catalyst for the redefinition of software repository to be a computational resource and the integration of software technology with other information transfer functions.