METHOD FOR INTER-COMPONENT COMMUNICATION

摘要

A method is provided for structuring communications between software components according to speech acts the communications represent, and a method is provided for responding to such communications. The method for structuring the communications includes providing a set of predefined communication acts, each representing one type of action and classified according to its expected effect on a recipient component. When a need exists for a first software component to communicate with another software component or components, a communication act is selected that represents the need from the set of predefined communication acts. The communication is constructed to include the selected communication act and an argument defining a subject of the communication act. The software component or components to which the communication should be addressed is determined, and the communication is directed to that software component or components. The method of responding to the communication includes interpreting the communication to determine what action a recipient software component is to perform in response to the communication. Interpreting the communication includes identifying the communication act, determining a standard set of responses associated with the communication act, and selecting a correct response from the standard set based on the context of the communication.