The Design And Implementation Of A Component Framework Based On Microkernel

Microkernel-based operating systems are increasingly being used in embedded devices for their minimization and reliability features. However, with increasing capabilities of embedded hardware, more features are added in embedded systems, leading to increased complexity of embedded systems software. The traditional development approach for embedded systems has become inadequate to meet with much larger and more complex systems. Component-based software engineering methodology addresses this issue by providing a way to develop a whole system. However, the traditional enterprise-class components software framework is too bloated to be used in embedded devices, which usually have strict constrains such as limited resources, security requirements, real-time property and low power constraints.In this paper we introduce SMART-UCOM, a component framework based on microkernel. The feature of easy expansion of the underlying communication mechanism makes SMART-UCOM flexible enough to adapt to different environment. We establish a set of SMART-UCOM component specifications for component-based application development, and also provide automated tools to generate codes according to the interface descriptions specified by developer. SMART-UCOM is a lightweight component framework, and is focused on rapid application development and deployment for embedded systems. SMART-UCOM-based component software engineering methodology provides a way to develop a whole system with good structure and high code reusability.