The Component Dilemma: handicaps of Component Architectures in Commercial Information Systems

Since Software Engineering emerged as one of the computer science disciplines at the end of the sixties, one common goal of many different approaches was to provide methods and mechanisms for component-based software construction. Simple reusable, reliable components and simple construction mechanisms for building big systems out of many simple components were thought to be the key to managing the increasing complexity in software production. More than 30 years have passed since then. And still we do not find component architectures being applied in most commercial information systems. In this paper, we discuss the objective handicaps and drawbacks of component-based software engineering in a commercial setting and what could be done to change this situation. The presentation is based on the experiences we have gained, when we have been developing new object-oriented information systems for one of the top five German insurance companies.