Fig. 1: Component-based software development process
Dedal is a three-dimensional ADL aimed at modeling the component-based software systems.
The two objectives of Dedal are to enable the expression of architecture design and to help
support architecture evolution. Firstly, it enables the description of abstract architecture
speci cations, concrete architecture con gurations and instantiated component assemblies.
Then it supports a controlled process that helps build, test and record architecture
evolution.
Dedal models architectures at three separate abstraction levels, which correspond to
the main stages of component-based development lifecycle. Each architecture de nition
on an abstraction level consists of components and connectors in di erent forms. An
overview of their relationships is shown in Fig. 1 and 2. Each abstraction level tries to capture
and reflect the design decisions at a given stage (design, development/construction and
deployment/execution).
Fig. 1: Component-based software development process
Fig. 2: Relationship between three levels