Software COTS, software components Information …ic.fing.org/files/20041209Fing_IC_Mielnik2.pdf1...

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Software components open directory: Software components open directory: the the eCots eCots platform platform www. www. ecots ecots .org .org jean- jean- christophe christophe . . mielnik mielnik @ @ ecots ecots .org .org +33 1 69 33 01 15 +33 1 69 33 01 15 Collective Intelligence WG Collective Intelligence WG 9/12/2004 – 9/12/2004 – Cité Cité des Sciences des Sciences 2 Software COTS awareness 3 COTS Component Off-The-Shelf A commercial COTS is a hardware or software component that is commercially available. COTS are generally used “as is” in programs. COTS software can be described along following axis: Commercialisation: a COTS is offered for sale, lease or license to the general public. Licensing : a COTS is distributed along one or several licenses. COTS can be distributed as proprietary software, open-source, software, freeware, shareware or any other type of software license (see COTS License) Versioning : a COTS has at least one version Producer : a COTS has an identifiable Producer Services: services are offered competitively in the commercial marketplace at catalogue prices Composition : a COTS can be composed of other COTS Non commercial COTS include Open Source Software (OSS) and Reusable Software Components (RSC) Software COTS, software components and open source software 4 The growing use of COTS instead of in-house developments implies A loss of control of the COTS based systems An increased dependency on COTS producers COTS users need reliable, accurate and continuously updated knowledge of the software component market. In practice Factual data are often missing Legal, commercial and technical information about components are often opaque Marketing strategies often lead to announcements describing an idealized strategy Need for Factual data on actors – producers, distributors and consulting companies – and products, processed on the technical, commercial, economical, financial and legal dimensions Information on COTS: a strategic involvement 5 Describe only Web Services No collaboration Cover small parts of COTS scope Low level of detail No collaboration Expensive • Unstructured data Very succinct descriptions Only open-source software Drawbacks Abundant and accurate information • Much collaboration TheServerSide.com, ITToolbox.com Community portals Structured data IBM, Microsoft, SAP UDDI registries UDDI catalogs Structured data Cxp.fr, Softdatabase.com, ProgicielExpert.com Proprietary catalogs • Structured data Recommendations Active collaboration • Driven by users Freshmeat.net, Linux Software Map sites Open-source community catalogs Assets Examples Catalog types Lack of details or accuracy and interoperability + no standards Existing catalogs emphasize the need of a common description model 6 The Genesis Of eCots Project Many companies lead COTS assessment campaigns on a regular basis Technical and purchasing experts elaborate detailed description of COTS Collected data and complementary experiments result in company’s recommendations This data is used in commercial negotiations and technical proposals Drawbacks of this process Assesment campaigns are not frequent enough when organized by a single actor Producers benefiting from a monopoly are reluctant to comply with the framework that any single industrial group can propose Collected data becomes obsolescent after few months, to maintain it is highly expensive Improvement: to freely share part of information on COTS, in order to Invite the growing community of COTS users to participate more directly with a view to contribute to the definition, qualification and maintenance of this information Motivate COTS producers to participate as well Taking benefit of the open content dynamics INRIA and Thales joined by EDF and Bull, supported by RNTL (Ministry of industry)

Transcript of Software COTS, software components Information …ic.fing.org/files/20041209Fing_IC_Mielnik2.pdf1...

Page 1: Software COTS, software components Information …ic.fing.org/files/20041209Fing_IC_Mielnik2.pdf1 Software components open directory: the eCots platform jean-christophe.mielnik@ecots.org

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Software components open directory:Software components open directory:the the eCots eCots platformplatform

www.www.ecotsecots.org.org

jean-jean-christophechristophe..mielnikmielnik@@ecotsecots.org.org

+33 1 69 33 01 15+33 1 69 33 01 15

Collective Intelligence WGCollective Intelligence WG9/12/2004 – 9/12/2004 – Cité Cité des Sciencesdes Sciences

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Software COTS awareness

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COTS Component Off-The-Shelf

A commercial COTS is a hardware or software component that iscommercially available. COTS are generally used “as is” in programs.

COTS software can be described along following axis:•Commercialisation: a COTS is offered for sale, lease or license to thegeneral public.•Licensing : a COTS is distributed along one or several licenses. COTScan be distributed as proprietary software, open-source, software, freeware,shareware or any other type of software license (see COTS License)•Versioning : a COTS has at least one version•Producer : a COTS has an identifiable Producer•Services: services are offered competitively in the commercial marketplaceat catalogue prices•Composition : a COTS can be composed of other COTS

Non commercial COTS include Open Source Software (OSS) andReusable Software Components (RSC)

Software COTS, software componentsand open source software

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The growing use of COTS instead of in-housedevelopments implies

A loss of control of the COTS based systemsAn increased dependency on COTS producersCOTS users need reliable, accurate and continuously updated knowledgeof the software component market.

In practiceFactual data are often missingLegal, commercial and technical information about components are oftenopaqueMarketing strategies often lead to announcements describing an idealizedstrategy

Need forFactual data on actors – producers, distributors and consulting companies –and products, processed on the technical, commercial, economical, financialand legal dimensions

Information on COTS: a strategic involvement

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Describe only WebServices No collaboration

Cover small parts ofCOTS scope Low level of detail No collaboration Expensive

• Unstructured data

Very succinctdescriptions Only open-source

software

Drawbacks

Abundant andaccurate information• Much collaboration

TheServerSide.com,ITToolbox.com

Communityportals

Structured dataIBM, Microsoft, SAPUDDI registries

UDDI catalogs

Structured dataCxp.fr,Softdatabase.com,ProgicielExpert.com

Proprietarycatalogs

• Structured data Recommendations Active collaboration

• Driven by users

Freshmeat.net, LinuxSoftware Map sites

Open-sourcecommunitycatalogs

AssetsExamplesCatalog types

Lack of details or accuracy and interoperability + no standards

Existing catalogs emphasize the need of acommon description model

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The Genesis Of eCots ProjectMany companies lead COTS assessment campaigns on a regular basis

Technical and purchasing experts elaborate detailed description of COTSCollected data and complementary experiments result in company’srecommendationsThis data is used in commercial negotiations and technical proposals

Drawbacks of this processAssesment campaigns are not frequent enough when organized by a singleactorProducers benefiting from a monopoly are reluctant to comply with theframework that any single industrial group can proposeCollected data becomes obsolescent after few months, to maintain it ishighly expensive

Improvement: to freely share part of information on COTS, in order toInvite the growing community of COTS users to participate more directlywith a view to contribute to the definition, qualification and maintenance ofthis informationMotivate COTS producers to participate as wellTaking benefit of the open content dynamicsINRIA and Thales joined by EDF and Bull, supported by RNTL (Ministry ofindustry)

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How to improve COTS awareness:the eCots approach

Sharing within a communityIntra-enterprise users -> inter-enterprises usersVendors as writers -> vendors as writers and readersNational dimension -> international dimension

Sharing based on standardsSharing means standardsXML-based dialects for generic level information and for eachcategory of COTSCertification

Sharing open contentsFrom open source to open contentsThe societal issue (bootstrap)The legal issue

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eCots association and eCots portal

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eCots: an association and a portaleCots is an inter-industrial association foundedin January 2004 by Thales, EDF R&D, and Bull,based in Soissons Informatique Libre + a portal:www.eCots.org (opened end 2003)Objectives

Help industrials to manage risks implied byextensive use of COTS softwareShare the various industrial efforts tocharacterize SW COTSBring together Web communities, academicgroups and industrials to build an Open Directory/ Wikipedia of SW COTS descriptions oneCots.orgPropose a common description model for COTSSW (see OASIS-OPEN association, ebXML, UBL,WSDL, DOAP)Propose an identification scheme for COTSproducts, versions, articles

Association membership annual fee 5000€ for large corporations, with possibility to

get a private platform synchronized with thepublic data in-house ("replication service") 3000€ for SMEs Free for Universities / associations

eCots.org - Data Growth Sept 2003 - Oct 2004

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août-04

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COTS Products

COTS Versions

Members

Working Groups

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eCots today

220 registered users on the portal: 10% COTS editors, 40%industrials (EDF, BULL, Volvo…), 20% researchers4 paying members650 referenced products in + 200 families300 products having detailed descriptions, 250 having at least oneversion described+ 1000 Web links on COTS related topics: COTS evaluation,lifecycle managementWorking groups: both general COTS WG and specific families WG

COTS lifecycle managementCOTS taxonomy and classificationMILOS WG (OSS / EuroFinder)NATO COTS WG ("NOTS")ICCBSS 2005 WGXML Databases WGStrategic and Steering Committees

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Legal Issues

As an information exchange platform on theInternet, eCots faces legal issues regarding:

Ownership and licensing of the documents providedby the portal,

Legal responsibilities and liabilities due to thedocuments and activities of the portal

eCots contributors publish information in theirown name, choosing among a set of threepublication licenses (close to CreativeCommonsLicenses)

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Main Portal AreaseCots Directories:

products andorganizations

Search

Content Publishing Area

Workinggroups area

My eCotsarea

14 Top Level Categories(built from Dmoz, Thales,EDF, Milos taxonomies)

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Browsing A COTS FamilyNavigation bar

Sub-Families

Products’ overviewsDirect access to editors’or versions’ cards

Type filtering bar

Results can beexported in XML

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COTS Product Description. Ex: JBossCOTS Families

Toolbar

COTS NameCOTS VersionsCOTS Producer

Supported OS,ProposedLicensesCOTS features(ex: JSP support,EJB support etc.)

AuthorCreation dateModification dateRelated contents

Memberreviews anddiscussions

Author type:• Individual• Organization• Workgroup

Content withdrawalrequest

Reuse license type

Editing the content

Printing the content

Mailing the content

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COTS Producer Description

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Describing COTS Versions Features

Example: J2EE Support Category•EJB support: EJB spec versions•JMS•JCA•JDBCetc…

Possibility to add textual commenton any checked category

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Searching for a COTS

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Query examples:•Search all RT Operating Systems distributed along GPL license, supporting a typical thread switchlatency between X and Y, and having a guaranteed maximum interrupt level of...•Search all COTS that have a confirmed obsolescence alert and that are used within Thales Communication

Query examples:•Search all RT Operating Systems distributed along GPL license, supporting a typical thread switchlatency between X and Y, and having a guaranteed maximum interrupt level of...•Search all COTS that have a confirmed obsolescence alert and that are used within Thales Communication

Search criteria:•COTS family•Supported OS•Licenses•Functional and technicalfeatures

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eCots Working GroupsTwo types of working groups:• Family specific WG, eg XML databases,RTOS etc.• Cross-domain WG: COTS life-cycle,COTS identification, …

• WG related to one COTS family define aschema describing technical and functionalfeatures of the family• Schemas are expressed in XML, in a formatclose to XML schemas• Schemas are based on a common model

eCots collaborative tooling•Online workspaces to sharedocuments and bookmarks•Read/update rights management•Forums•Email notifications•Publication area

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Dissemination of MILOS dataon eCotsMILOS: EUCLID / CEPA6 projectEvaluation of evaluation of more than 400OSS components in 44 tools families

• Technical assessment which focuseson the component's technical featuresand effectiveness (performance)• Non-technical assessment, calledindustrial assessment in the following,which deals with support, componentmanagement & maintainers' strategy,durability (the ability to last and toevolve)

All descriptions have been imported intoeCots database. Can be browsed in MILOSWG main category.

ACE Communication Toolkit Description Sheet

MILOS Working Group Area on eCots20

Populating eCots databaseDirect publication + RSS and DOAP feeds decreasing the

publication and diffusion costs

RSS / DOAP feeds

Producers publishinformation in RSS or DOAPformat on their Web site

• Data published on eCots isavailable as RSS feeds• Several cataloguing iniativescan take advantage of theprocess• Bolsters the emergence ofstandards through usage

New versions or products arepublished / updated on eCotsUsers/Editors choose amonga set of templates

eCotsProducer’s sites Other COTS portals

DOAP: Description Of A Project http://usefulinc.com/doap/

« DOAP is a project to create an XML/RDF vocabulary to describe open sourceprojects. In addition to developing an RDF schema and examples, the DOAP projectaims to provide tool support in all the popular programming languages. »

RDF schema comprised of: description, language, license,categories, maintainers, documentation, testers etc.

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COTS Identification

Need for an ISBN of SW COTS easing the selection, maintenance,integration, update of COTSWhich kind of ID? Arbitrary number? MD5? URI?Inspiration sources and possible partners

European Telecommunications Standards Institute 800 members frommore than 55 countries inside and outside EuropeECCMA open technical dictionary http://eccma.org/eotd/ “60,000Standard Item Names and over 30,000 Standard Attribute Names, withdefinitions, multilingual translations and classification tables to theUNSPSC, CPV, eClass, FSC and HTS classifications”UNSPSC http://www.unspsc.org/ “The United Nations StandardProducts and Services Code® (UNSPSC®) provides an open, globalmulti-sector standard for efficient, accurate classification of productsand services.”Taxonomy working group initiated by Marco Torchiano at ICCBSS 2004Industrial initiatives like TCIS (Thales Components Information System)http://www.isbn.org

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eCots intranet portals

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eCots replication servicePrinciple

allowing eCots members to have access both to their ownconfidential items of information – in local mode – and tothe data managed by the portal

MeansOptimistic protocol to manage conflicts in a programmablemanner ensuring consistencyOne single interaction for synchronizing two replicatesPrivate portals can be disconnected from externalenvironment

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Replication serviceInternet Company’s local

network

Company’s localnetwork

Replication

Replication

eCots.org

eCots local

eCots local

Create publiccontent

Create privatecontent

Create privatecontent

Public Datavisualization

Private Datavisualization

Private Datavisualization

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Replication serviceInternet Company’s local

network

Company’s localnetwork

eCots local

eCots local

Replication

Replication

eCots.org

public aupdate

updated Datavisualization

updated Datavisualization

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eCots platform extensibility

eCots.org

Public database

eCots-Thales

eCots.org replicate(periodic synchronization)

eCots-Thales extension: Thales-specific information

on various COTS and producers

1) Model extension2) Data extension

Thales-specific data typesextending common types

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Content Rights Management

Publication P1Ex: DOORSdescription

Publication P2Ex: Group recommendations for

requirements mangementCOTS

Unidentified Thalesusers

Group G3Ex: Buyers

Publication P3Ex: corporate agreement with

Telelogic – work document

Group G2Ex: Working Group

« Requirements Management »

Can read and can update

Can readUser U1

Belongs toUser U2

Conclusion

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eCots future: some tracks

To become a major reference platformComponents repository (Commercial and Open Source)

Experimentation field for collaborative approaches andtools

Domain specificDeployment: increase the size of the database and ofthe community (both users and members)

Host domain-specific communities producing ontologies

Develop new services

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Collective Intelligence and eCots platform

Engineering & research

Humans, hierarchies, communities & tools

Black boxes & white boxes -> « confidence » boxes

Open source progress & dynamics

Copyright & public domain -> open contents

Central support -> collaborative approaches

Structured contents / Collaborative processes

Sharing / Private contents

Industrial deployment / Technological progress time scales

The eCots-Wiki example

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eCots NetworkOrganismes

INRIA / AFULFING / COOPILSIL (Soissons)Université de Savoie / Université de Comahue (Argentine)

ProjetsMILOS / MERCEDeComponents / SEIFondation(s) logiciel libreNouveaux usages des réseaux et medias numériquesSSLL

PublicationsICCBSS / SEI / NRCICSESpringer Verlag

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URLs and Contacts

eCots public portal URL: http://www.ecots.org

eCots-Thales URL: http://www.trt.thales/ecots/

Contacts :[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

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