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Related Work

The BeanBox was used as a base because it is platform independent, supports Java 2 (JDK 1.2 and up), already had some support (although limited) for the BeanContext interface, and most important, because its source code was available.

Prototyping a new tool by reusing the BeanBox source code seems to be a common practice. Wang and MacLean [15] enhanced the BeanBox to support introspection features that assist in component assembly using IIOP links based on IONA OrbixWeb. Miller et al. created a simulation environment called JSIM [16]. The BeanBox source code is incorporated inside the impressive Sieve [17] collaborative visualization environment. Natarajan and Rosenblum [18] have extended the BeanBox to support events in the C2 architecture style [19,20]. Occasionally, implementation details about the internal working of the BeanBox are sought in the javabeans news group.

However, these are all examples of special purpose extensions. In comparison, this work may be seen as a general-purpose extension: extending the BDK to support the new standard runtime containment and services protocol. Moreover, this work also uncovers the internal working of the BeanBox and documents the information need for reusing it, information that might be helpful for authors of future BeanBox extensions.

The BDK is platform independent, and it is lightweight with no special requirements. Its intent is testing, not production. Its approach is runnable design time (unlike other tools which build, generate code, and then run.) Thus, it reacts faster than similar tools. It is, therefore, a perfect platform for fulfilling our purpose: testing context beans and demonstrating how a supportive builder works.

JavaSoft explains how to work with the BeanBox Kit [14]. Sun provides the source code, of course, and encourages users to ``play with it". There is some documentation within the code. However, there is no documentation about the design of the BeanBox. Hopefully, this paper can provide a jump-start to those who are attempting to reuse the BDK source code.

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