Product line (software)
A software product line comprises several individual versions of a software product that are created on the basis of a common platform.
The platform software is included in all products. In addition, each product contains individual characteristics in the form of configuration or newly developed software.
A product line is determined by its variability : At one point of variation in the software development process, a decision is left open. To derive a product, all variants are bound , i. H. configured or replaced by product-specific solutions or omitted. This is how the various products are created.
The aim of software product line development is to reduce development costs through the targeted reuse of common parts.
So that the products do not become too different, one usually limits oneself to a certain market or a certain customer group.
The term software product line was introduced by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh .
The Software Product Line Conference (SPLC) takes place every year, alternately in America , Europe and Asia .
Examples of software product lines are
- the diesel engine control software from Cummings, Inc.
- the petrol engine control software from Robert Bosch GmbH
- Nokia mobile phone software
- the software for securities analysis and portfolio management from Market Maker Software AG
See also
literature
- Böckle, Knauber, Pohl, Schmid (Eds.): Software-Produktlinien , Dpunkt, Heidelberg 2004, ISBN 978-3898642576
Web links
- ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: website of the University of Marburg, event "Software Product Lines - Concepts and Implementation" from SS 2011 ) Comprehensive introduction to SPL and SPLE. Lecture material from Dr. Christian Kästner