Software components are increasingly central to efficient, cost-effective software development. In this book, the world's leading experts on component software development come together to present the field's state of the art, and to offer new insights into the key challenges of component architecture and reuse. With original contributions by leaders such as Ivar Jacobson, Martin Griss, Len Bass, Paul Clements, Don Reifer, and Will Tracz, this carefully edited book is the "first word" on components: a tool for helping practitioners get the most out of all their component-based resources. It offers new insight for deciding whether and how to implement component-based development strategies; as well as a clear understanding of the obstacles to successful component development, and "best practices" responses. The contributors review diverse approaches to component development, present state-of-the-art processes for building component-based systems, and introduce new research directions that will impact component development in the coming decade. For software developers, designers and architects; business analysts; technology executives; computer science and software engineering researchers; project managers; QA specialists, and other professionals.