modulea

Modulea is a fictional modular software framework designed to illustrate component-based design concepts. It provides a generic runtime and a pluggable architecture that allows independent modules to be added, replaced, or updated without recompiling the core system.

The architecture centers on a small core runtime that exposes a service bus, a module registry, and isolation boundaries. Modules declare their capabilities through a manifest, specifying interfaces, dependencies, and version requirements. The runtime resolves dependencies, loads modules on demand, and enforces sandboxed execution to limit side effects.

Modules communicate through well-defined interfaces and a common messaging protocol, enabling data flow and event handling across the system. Support for hot swapping allows a running system to update a module without downtime. Metadata supports backwards-compatible upgrades and graceful decommissioning.

Modulea emphasizes language bindings and interoperability. It provides adapters and wrappers for languages such as Python, C++, and JavaScript, allowing modules written in different languages to interoperate via a standard data format and remote procedure calls.

Typical use cases include data processing pipelines, robotics control, visualization dashboards, and educational experiments in software architecture. The framework is commonly referenced in tutorials and research as a model for modular design and plugin ecosystems.

In practice, Modulea is described in documentation as a community-driven project with an open license and contribution guidelines, a lightweight core, and an emphasis on security, portability, and predictable upgrade paths.