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Towards a Theory of Interoperability of Software Systems
Hacia una teoría de interoperabilidad de los sistemas de software
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15446/ing.investig.102248Keywords:
Interoperability, Axiomatic theory, Software system, Axiom, Proposition, Expert consultation (en)Interoperabilidad, Teoría axiomática, Sistema de software, Axioma, Proposición, Consulta de expertos (es)
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Interoperability is a property of software quality that is related to the cooperation between software systems for exchanging information. However, this concept is not well explained or understood. A theory would be useful to explain interoperability in terms of its essential elements and propositions. Theoretical contributions of interoperability are intended to formalize this concept by using common frameworks, models, and meta-models. However, tentative contributions developed in the past have failed to propose a theory of interoperability due to four reasons: (1) a disunified vocabulary is used, (2) the essential elements for describing interoperability are not well identified, (3) only a single level of interoperability is assessed, and (4) interoperability principles are not well formalized. This paper tentatively proposes an axiomatic theory of interoperability as a complementary approach to the existing knowledge. The proposed theory seeks to better formalize the concepts of interoperability and suggest actions aimed at establishing interoperability. After a brief review of related works and the state of the art, a set of axioms and propositions is presented. This theory is evaluated by a group of experts, and an example is presented to illustrate its use. Conclusions and future works are outlined at the end of the paper.
La interoperabilidad es una propiedad de calidad del software que tiene que ver con la cooperación entre sistemas de software para intercambiar información. Sin embargo, este concepto carece de una explicación o un completo entendimiento. Una teoría permitiría explicar la interoperabilidad en términos de sus elementos esenciales y proposiciones. Las contribuciones teóricas acerca de la interoperabilidad proponen formalizar este concepto utilizando marcos comunes, modelos y metamodelos. No obstante, las contribuciones tentativas desarrolladas en el pasado no logran proponer una teoría. Esto, debido a cuatro razones: (1) usan un vocabulario desunificado, (2) omiten los elementos esenciales para describir la interoperabilidad, (3) se enfocan en un nivel particular de interoperabilidad y (4) presentan una formalización incompleta con respecto a los principios de interoperabilidad. En este artículo se propone una teoría axiomática de interoperabilidad como un enfoque complementario al conocimiento existente. Con la teoría propuesta se pretende formalizar los conceptos de interoperabilidad y sugerir acciones para establecer la interoperabilidad. Con base en una revisión de los trabajos relacionados y el estado del arte, se define un conjunto de axiomas y proposiciones. Un conjunto de expertos valida la teoría, y se expone un ejemplo para ilustrar su uso. Las conclusiones y los trabajos futuros se describen al final del artículo.
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Copyright (c) 2023 Diana Maria Torres Ricaurte
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