Supporting software components production

In this paper we present an approach to the management of large-scale object-oriented applications based on a sharp distinction between the object-oriented language in which components are described and the way components are assembled into a specific application. In particular, we propose a database component schema which allows for a free development of components and permits to define at the database level all the policies connected to the grouping of components into a specific application. The database schema we propose permits recording all the information about a component relevant to its use in several application contexts. At the schema level is then possible to express how components are connected in more complex structures and the definition of an application as a specific view of (a part of) the developed structure.