| Components are replaceable and reusable software units, supported by a framework. Components have object-oriented characteristics. Distributed component technology merges component technology and distributed technology, enabling components to be distributed and communicate with each other over a network. This thesis proposes a distributed component architecture, and presents the design and implementation of a visual distributed JavaBean generator based on the architecture to automate the generation of distributed JavaBeans from non-distributed Java components.;The distributed component architecture defines distributed components and their collaborations. A distributed component consists of an internal non-distributed base component, a helper component Switcher and an optional remote interface. Collaboration between components is performed by Switchers and remote interfaces that are loosely coupled with the components. A distributed event model, which combines, a Java event delegation model with remote method invocation, is also proposed to realize the communication between distributed components.;The generator generates distributed JavaBeans atop two main distributed object architectures: Java RMI and OMG's CORBA. It generates Switchers as Java adaptors and encapsulates communication data into events. It wraps up Beans and discovers their interfaces using JavaBeans' introspection and event services. It presents a visual environment for programmers to connect, partition and deploy Beans. |
