A Literature Survey on Software Component Selection in Component-Based Software Engineering

This study presents a literature survey on software component selection within component-based software engineering, a field that has significantly transformed the construction of complex software systems through modular reuse. The increasing reliance on software components has allowed the development of scalable, adaptable, and cost-effective software solutions, reflecting the growing demand for agility and efficiency in software component selection practices. Motivated by the need to address the evolving challenges in this area, we reviewed 3,141 studies published between January 2012 and August 2024 and identified 81 relevant papers. Our review provides a qualitative summary of the selected articles, analyzing the methodologies, tools, and frameworks that have been proposed to aid developers in component selection. The implications of our study are twofold: first, it highlights the strategic importance of effective component selection in achieving high-quality software development; second, it underscores the necessity for continual re-evaluation of component selection criteria as the software ecosystem evolves. Based on our review of the current state of research, we identified eleven key learnings, four areas for future research, more than 700 quality criteria for comparing software components, ninety software component selection methods, nine available software component selection tools, and six methodologies for evaluating component selection methods.