A UML-Based Plug&Play Version of RothC

This chapter presents the stepwise conversion of the FORTRAN-based RothC Soil Organic Carbon model into a plug&play component amenable to use as part of larger modeling frameworks. As a first step, RothC was converted into a stand-alone Java modular application to ensure consistency with the parent model. The plug&play component was then developed based on the Unified Modeling Language (UML). The plug&play component provides services that other system/components can easily use. The behavior of RothC is presented through interfaces that other system/components can implement. The use of interfaces to express behavior of components facilitates the collaboration of teams located in different geographic regions. Various UML diagrams present static and dynamic aspects of the system. UML facilitates model documentation, and the plug&play architecture facilitates implementation by other researchers, who can integrate the RothC component into their studies or systems without making extensive structural changes or recompilation of their entire modeling frameworks.

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