computer architecture

n 1: the art of assembling logical elements into a computing

device; the specification of the relation between parts

of a computer system

2: (computer science) the structure and organization of a

computer's hardware or system software

component architecture

A notion in {object-oriented} programming where

"components" of a program are completely generic. Instead of

having a specialised set of {methods} and {fields} they have

generic methods through which the component can advertise the

functionality it supports to the system into which it is

loaded. This enables completely {dynamic loading} of

{objects}. {JavaBeans} is an example of a component

architecture.

See also {design pattern}.

(1997-11-20)