Design and implementation of a tool to support Web-based dynamic composition of software component

Internet is a worldwide resource for component distribution. Software companies already sell their products to customers through direct downloading. This distribution model can be extended to software components instead of full-featured applications. Components are composed by customers to reform customizable applications. However, the current available technology does not support the distribution mechanism fully. This research work focuses on the study and development of a prototype for supporting the described market structure. In order to support the infrastructure, dynamic component composition in a Web-based environment must be supported. WebCODS (Web-based Component On Demand System) is a research prototype that supports dynamic component composition over the Web. This system uses the component composition model derived from UniCon and applies the composition framework in a Web-based environment. The framework also provides a classification model and a search engine to support component brokerage. The classification model is based on facet classification and accompanied with a search engine for querying the component broker. The security aspect in the environment is also addressed using encryption and digital signature. The thesis contains detailed discussion on the design of WebCODS and the selected implementation strategy. From the experience of developing WebCODS, the techniques for building such a system and directions for future research are identified.