Component-based development framework for ocean information system

Software developments of Ocean Information Systems (OISs) have suffered from low efficiency and poor quality due to the absence of powerful software development models and methods. In this paper, the component-based development framework is proposed to facilitate OIS software developments. The framework consists of unified data model (UDM) and component development model (CDM). In the UDM, the classification of ocean data is described and the structure of each type of data is unified. In the CDM, similar functions required in ocean information management are encapsulated into a component, which is designed, implemented and tested independently. All the components form the component repository. The development process is then turned into selecting the appropriate components from the component repository and assembling them into a whole. Hence the development efficiency is improved greatly due to the shortened development and debugging time. The development models are proved to be feasible and effective by applying it to the development of prototype systems.