How to Make Invasive Composition Reliable

Abstract

The first sections of this chapter present several formal features of compositions in invasive composition systems, of which many apply to other composition systems as well. We deal with criteria for sound invasive composition, discuss an extended information-hiding principle, list some criteria for termination of compositions, and apply the composition to the configuration and system build management. These criteria provide the basis for composition tools that check whether compositions are sound and do not destroy semantics of components, check whether composed systems are configured correctly, and check whether composed systems can be executed.

This chapter introduces several formal features of an invasive composition process. These features help tools, such as Compost, to decide about the quality of compositions and composed systems.

So I began to wonder if there was a code, like the genetic code, for human acts of building?

It turns out that there is. It takes the form of language.

A pattern language gives each person who uses it the power to cre­ate an infinite variety of new and unique buildings, just as his or­dinary language gives him the power to create an infinite variety of sentences.

C. Alexander [Alexander, 1979]