A Time for Reflection

Software reflection, a technique or approach that makes software self-aware, is similar to human reflection, although not as subjective or complicated. Proper use of software reflection can produce flexible, adaptable applications. In a sense, reflective applications, like reflective people, are capable of dynamic self-improvement. Because integration requires flexibility and adaptation, reflection is growing in popularity for software, such as Web services, that glues applications together. Understanding reflection basics and how to apply them to your own applications can ease integration nightmares. The author focuses on a problem that reflection can help solve: dynamic invocation as an approach for working across disparate type systems.