Heterogeneous software system interoperability through computer-aided resolution of modeling differences

Abstract

Meeting future system requirements by integrating existing stand-alone systems is attracting renewed interest. Computer communications advances, functional similarities in related systems, and enhanced information description mechanisms suggest that improved capabilities may be possible; but full realization of this potential can only be achieved if stand-alone systems are fully interoperable. Interoperability among independently developed heterogeneous systems is difficult to achieve: systems often have different architectures, different hardware platforms, different operating systems, different host languages and different data models. The Object-Oriented Method for Interoperability (OOMI) introduced in this dissertation resolves modeling differences in a federation of independently developed heterogeneous systems, thus enabling system interoperation. First a model of the information and operations shared among systems, termed a Federation Interoperability Object Model (FIOM), is defined. Construction of the FIOM is done prior to run-time with the assistance of a specialized toolset, the OOMI Integrated Development Environment (OOMI IDE). Then at runtime OOMI Translators utilize the FIOM to automatically resolve differences in exchanged information and in inter-system operation signatures.