The basis for the Software Bus solution to the inter-operation problems of heterogeneous tools in a distributed SEE

The Software Bus supplies a solution to the problem of integrating heterogeneous, distributed software engineering tools in order that they can interoperate. The problems of heterogeneity of platform, paradigm, and programming language are described, together with the requirements not to rewrite legacy applications, to be descriptive, and to simply plug in and go. The structural view of a software engineering environment (SEE) as a set of components, offering and requiring services, mutually interacting by means of requests, and joined together by a Software Bus is given. The Software Bus performs any data conversion that is necessary, arranges for delivery of requests, and responds to errors. A prototype is publicly available. The Software Bus is compared with OSI transport layer/presentation layer, remote procedure calls, object request brokers, and broadcast message systems