Towards Runtime Plug-and-Play Software

As applications grow more and more complex, the current software faces a great challenge in dynamism. This paper proposes to modernize legacy software towards runtime plug-and-play architecture using service-oriented component model. Our object is to provide runtime plug-and-play feature for software to simplify development and adapt to changing execution environment. We propose a two-stage modernization approach and take OSGi as the foundation framework. After designing software architecture, modernization principles are discussed, and the presented approach is guided and validated by a case study involving the modernizing of a Java EE application server.