Facilitating Reuse of Legacy Software by Universal Representation in XML and Code Generation

Harmonia offers a novel approach to realizing software re-use through the use of functional primitives stored as XML. Harmonia offers a solution that allows developers to build libraries of primitives such as design algorithms and software models. These primitives are stored in a language-independent XML format that abstracts the algorithm design away from any particular implementation language. Code generators then use transformation rules to automatically create deployable source code from the XML. Harmonia's solution defines a process that allows new and legacy algorithms to be reverse engineered into XML from implementation code. From this XML representation, these algorithms can be deployed to multiple implementation languages, allowing the Missile Defense Agency to use standardized algorithms across systems, even if the systems are implemented in different languages. This approach has the added benefit of allowing code for future technologies to be generated from the same XML, ensuring the perseverance of certified algorithms. Harmonia's proposed solution includes a tool that automates much of the reverse engineering and code generation effort required to build these libraries.