The packaging and deployment model for CORBA Components introduces a large number of terms and concepts that are usually not transparent after a single reading. This page tries to introduce the most relevant terms in a simplistic but more comprehensible way.
.csd
extension (for Component Software Descriptor)
that describes a single component. It references the file that
implements the component (the shared library or executable) and
the IDL file.
.zip
extension that contains a Software Package Descriptor, and it
usually also includes the associated implementation and IDL
files: it is therefore a self-contained package of a single
component.
.cpf
extension (for Component Property File). It
defines values for a home's or component's attributes.
.cad
extension (for Component Assembly Descriptor). It references
zero or more Software Package Descriptors, contains information
about home and component instances to create, references
Property File Descriptors to configure them, and last but not
least contains information about the ports to connect.
.aar
extension. It contains an Assembly Descriptor, and it usually
also includes all associated files: Software Package
Descriptors, Property File Descriptors, implementation and IDL
files. It is therefore a self-contained package or multiple
interconnected components.
.ccd
extension. It contains
implementation-specific information about a
component. MicoCCM does not use Component Descriptors.
Frank Pilhofer, fp@fpx.de