Software Reuse: Concepts, Approaches, Advantages, and Challenges

Abstract

Software reuse has become a topic of significant interest within the software community because of its potential advantages, including improved product quality and reduced development cost and design effort. The most notable benefits come from adopting a product line approach, where a shared collection of reusable software assets serves as a foundation for developing similar products within a particular functional domain. However, the initial investments needed to support software reuse are substantial and must be carefully evaluated before starting a software reuse initiative.