aXbc

aXbc is a fictional cross-platform software framework used in academic discussions of software architecture to illustrate modular design and plugin-based extensibility. Although sometimes presented as a real project in teaching materials, there is no public, production-ready release of aXbc.

Overview and goals: The terms aXbc denote a reference architecture that emphasizes a minimal core, a dynamic plugin system, and language-agnostic interfaces. The core provides services such as lifecycle management, configuration, and inter-plugin communication, while functionality is provided by independent plugins that can be loaded or unloaded at runtime.

Architecture and components: The architecture is commonly described as a modular, microkernel-like design with a central host responsible for plugin discovery, dependency resolution, and security isolation. Plugins expose standardized interfaces, enabling interoperation across languages and platforms. A simple event bus or message-passing protocol is used for communication.

Implementation status and usage: In educational materials, aXbc is often implemented as pseudo-code or reference implementations in languages like C++, Python, and JavaScript to illustrate concepts without the burden of production tooling. There is no formal specification or standard release; instead, variants appear in textbooks and online courses to demonstrate principles such as separation of concerns and dynamic extensibility.

Impact and reception: aXbc is widely cited as a pedagogical example for discussing plugin architectures, modularity, and runtime configurability. Critics note that it remains an artificial construct and may not reflect the complexity of real-world systems.