A framework for event-based software integration

Although event-based software integration is one of the most prevalent approaches to loose integration, no consistent model for describing it exists. As a result, there is no uniform way to discuss event-based integration, compare approaches and implementations, specify new event-based approaches, or match user requirements with the capabilities of event-based integration systems. We attempt to address these shortcomings by specifying a generic framework for event-based integration, the EBI framework, that provides a flexible, object-oriented model for discussing and comparing event-based integration approaches. The EBI framework can model dynamic and static specification, composition, and decomposition and can be instantiated to describe the features of most common event-based integration approaches. We demonstrate how to use the framework as a reference model by comparing and contrasting three well-known integration systems: FIELD, Polylith, and CORBA.