The Power of MOF-Based Meta-modeling of Components

To allow comfortable and easy development, component systems have to provide a rather a big set of development supporting tools including at least a tool for composition and repository for storing and retrieving components. In this paper, we evaluate and present advantages of using MOF and meta-modeling during definition of component system and also during development of the supporting tools. Most of the presented arguments are based on a broad practical experience with designing the component systems SOFA and SOFA 2; the former designed in the classical ad hoc manual way, while the latter via meta-modeling.