Dynamic component composition for functionality adaptation in pervasive environments

Abstract

With the increasing prevalence of mobile devices, computing is being carried out on devices with varied resource constraints and is afflicted by constant changes in run-time contexts. It becomes a requirement for software systems to be able to adapt appropriately to the changing computing environments. Functionality Adaptation-dynamically changing how an application carries out its functionality, has not been well studied in the context of pervasive computing. This research aims to devise a flexible functionality adaptation technique for pervasive environments. The foundation of our system is dynamic component composition-applications are made up of small components, called facets, which are brought in at run-time from the network when needed, executed and discarded after use. Which component is used depends on the run-time execution environment, thus adapting the execution of the task. This paper presents the facet model, its implications, and how it can be realized to build adaptable mobile applications.