BlackBox Component Builder

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BlackBox Component Builder is an integrated development environment optimized for component-based software development. It consists of development tools, a library of reusable components, a framework that simplifies the development of robust custom components and applications, and a run-time environment for components.

In BlackBox, the development of applications and their components is done in Component Pascal. This language is a descendant of Pascal, Modula-2, and Oberon. It provides modern features such as objects, full type safety, components (in the form of modules), dynamic linking of components, and garbage collection. The entire BlackBox Component Builder is written in Component Pascal: all library components, all development tools including the Component Pascal compiler, and even the low-level run-time system with its garbage collector.

As its name implies, BlackBox Component Builder supports blackbox abstractions and reuse as opposed to whitebox as defined in [1]. It started 1993 as Oberon/F[2][3] and was renamed to BlackBox Component Builder with Release 1.3 end of the 1990s. BlackBox Component Builder went open source with Release 1.5 mid-2004.

The design principles of the BlackBox Component Framework are based on Clemens Szyperski's research, published in his PhD thesis [4][5].

Downloads

BlackBox is available from the BlackBox Framework Center Download page.


Also see Some notes about migration from 1.6 to 1.7

References

  1. Szyperski, Clemens. Component Software. Addison Wesley, 2002, p. 40f and Chap.7 (p. 109ff)
  2. http://www.edm2.com/0608/oberon.html
  3. D. Pountain, The Oberon/F System, BYTE 20(1), Jan. 1995.
  4. Szyperski, Clemens. Insight ETHOS: On Object Orientation in Operating Systems. PhD thesis: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), Dissertation No 9884. vdf Hochschulverlag AG an der ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland, ISBN 3-7281-1948-2, 1992, PDF in ETHZ E-Collection
  5. Clemens Szyperski's post in c.l.o.

External links