Implementation of a repository for cataloguing, searching and using reusable software components in web application development

Abstract

Software development is a complex process that requires time investment and knowledge of technological tools for its elaboration, debugging and deployment. However, over the years, technological and methodological advances have been developed, which considerably reduce this complexity, making this activity a more intuitive, controllable and fast process. Reuse appears as an alternative to develop applications and systems more efficiently and quickly. The idea is to reuse elements and components instead of having to develop them from scratch. These units are known as reusable software components. The library or repository of reusable components is the heart of component-based software development, allowing these components to be catalogued, organised, discovered and reused. In this work, a reusable software component repository was developed and implemented to support the web application development processes and the training of students in the Systems Engineering program of the Universidad Francisco de Paula Santander (Cúcuta, Colombia) called Colossal, allowing students and professors to search, share and reuse the components available in the library and use them in their projects. In order to evaluate the component repository and verify that it fulfills its purpose, a quantitative descriptive study was carried out to evaluate the level of acceptance of the technological tool. As a result, it was obtained that the majority (94%) of students and professors responded positively and a high acceptance of the operation and use of the tool was evidenced.