compssus

Compssus is a theoretical framework in software architecture for describing the composition of autonomously developed subsystems into a cohesive application. It treats composition as a set of patterns that emphasize modular interfaces, explicit connectors, and contracts defining interaction, data formats, and error handling. Though not a universal standard, compssus is discussed in academic and practitioner settings as a way to analyze scalability and maintainability in large systems.

The name is typically read as a blend of composite and subsystem, signaling the goal of assembling discrete parts into a functioning whole. In this view, a subsystem is a bounded component with a published interface, while the connectors specify how those interfaces are wired.

Core concepts include interfaces with data types and timing guarantees, connectors that perform data transformation and routing, and composition operators such as sequential pipelines, parallel branches, and event-driven orchestration. Adapters reconcile mismatched interfaces, and contract testing ensures compatibility across subsystem versions.

Lifecycle and governance: Compssus advocates explicit contracts and governance policies to avoid breaking changes during integration. Common tooling includes dependency tracking, interface verification, and simulated environments. Typical use cases are large enterprise applications, embedded systems, and multi-vendor platforms.

Variants and critique: Proposals describe lightweight variants for simple integrations and full-featured versions for larger deployments. Critics argue that compssus adds architectural overhead and requires mature tooling and governance to be effective.

Relation to other approaches: Compssus relates to modularity, component-based software engineering, microservices, and service-oriented architectures, providing a vocabulary for discussing how independently developed parts fit together. See also modularity, CBSE, microservices, SOA.