Abstract: This paper introduces the Aster distributed composition-based programming system that is aimed at easing the development of distributed runtime systems, customized to the application needs, in a Corba-based environment. Our approach is based on high-level customization: given the specification of application requirements through the Aster composition language, a distributed runtime system, customized for meeting these requirements is built. Furthermore, the fact that the Aster system is based on the Corba standard for distributed computing enhances the potential of re-use of both application-level and system-level software.

Keywords: Composition-based programming, Corba, Distributed programming, Distributed runtime system, Software re-use, Software bus, System customization.