Visualizing Softw are Architecture w ith Off-The-Shelf Components - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Visualizing Softw are Architecture w ith Off-The-Shelf Components

Jie Ren, Richard Taylor Institute for Software Research University of California, Irvine

Outline

Overview Background Integrate off-the-shelf components Visualize static structure Visualize dynamic execution Related work Conclusion

Overview

Motivation:

– To facilitate construction of large software – To explore issues in reusing OTS Components

Validation

– Integrating ArchStudio, Visio and Graphviz – AWACS simulator

Contribution

– demonstration of the effectiveness of development with COTS components – exploration of different integration technologies – the software architecture visualization solution

Background: C2, xADL

C2 Architecture Style

– Components, connectors – Interface: top, bottom – Events: request, notification

xADL 2.0 Architecture Description

Language

– Instance – Structure and Type – Configuration Management Support

Background: ArchStudio

xArchADT Visio ArchEdit File Manager/Invoker ADT Tier Convenience Tier No-UI Tools Tier UI Tools Tier Management Tier UI-based tools and UIs for upper layers tools.

components providing more "convenient" APIs to xArchADT Analysis, Simulation, and other tools without user interfaces. ...... ......

Background: Visio and Graphviz

Microsoft Visio

– popularity, support, functionality, and customizability

Graphviz (from AT&T Research)

– the appearance of the resulting graph drawings – tool usability: speed, scalability

Visio for ArchStudio

Integrating Components

Integrate ArchStudio and Visio

– Running ArchStudio within Microsoft JVM – Interoperation with Sun JVM through RMI – Generic COM/Event Bridge

Integrate Visio and Graphviz

– File-based – Native COM interface

Visio as Graphical Editor

Enhance Visio to edit architectural

constituents

Functionalities:

– Create component and connector types – Create/Delete components/connectors – Connect/Disconnect components/connectors – Undo the editing operations – Group/Ungroup components and connectors – Create sub architectures

Visualization of Static Structure

Extensible visual notation Visualizing architecture description Supporting complex architecture

Visual Notations

Template, Stencil, and Master Meta masters for component type,

connector type, and link type

One master for each type Customization of masters

Visualize Architecture Description

Use Graphviz to layout constituents of

an architecture

Visio reads the result and positions the

components and connectors

Notion of A->B

Handling of direction: order of appearance Different shapes for components and connectors Handling of link: use Visio’s built-in link

Architecture Concepts to be Visualized Visua lized In Box- And-Line-like Description Visua lized In xADL-like Description Components Box Box Connectors Line Box (different type) Links (Implicit) Line Input to Graphviz Component-> Component Component-> Connector; Connector-> Component

AWACS Structure

<componentType id="MAINRDMX_TYPE"> </componentType> ...... <connectorType id="CONNECTOR_TYPE_1"> </connectorType> <component id="MAINRDMX1"> <type href="#MAINRDMX_TYPE"/> <interface id=”MAINRDMX1_I_AOCPCAU1”/> </component> <connector id="Connector_02"> <type href="#CONNECTOR_TYPE_1"/> <interface id=”Interface_B_02”/> </connector> <link id="Link_MAINRDMX1_02"> <point> <anchorOnInterface href="#MAINRDMX1_I_AOCPCAU1"/> </point> <point> <anchorOnInterface href="#Interface_B_02"> </point> </link> ......

AWACS

– 40+ component types – 120+ components – 200+ connectors – 400+ links – 10000+ lines of xADL code

AWACS Visualization

Support Complex Architecture

Group Sub

Architecture

Architecture

Browser

Visualize Dynamic Execution

Instantiation Events Listener

Visualization Summary

General purpose graphical editor Visualize architecture descriptions,

using architect’s graphical notations

Group, sub-architecture, browse Animation of execution

Related Work

Visualization in other ADLs

– Developed from scratch – Few support both static and dynamic visualization

Integrating Commercial Products

– Goldman/Balzer: PowerPoint – Coppit/Sullivan: Package Oriented Programming

Other forms of software architecture visualization

– Grundy/Husking: SoftArch – Reverse Engineering Community

Conclusion

Integrating COTS into a visualization

solution

Contribution: demonstration, integration,

solution

Choosing components: open source, easy

customization, business factors

Further work: event filtering/track,

architecture analysis, architecture evolution