Towards a Reflective Component-based Middleware Architecture

Current middleware is inflexible and monolithic and fails to address emerging needs for adaptation to changing requirements. As a solution, we propose that middleware be built as a reflective and component-based system. Our architecture is based on component frameworks and component framework-specific meta-interfaces and leads to extensible, composable, and dynamically flexible middleware systems. Moreover, it addresses the critical problem of ensuring integrity in the face of dynamic adaptation. A pilot implementation, based on an efficient, lightweight component model, is currently