Domain-agnostic approaches enable broad software interoperability and user access without requiring new programming languages, often leveraging open protocols like OSC for cross-platform communication.
Core Concepts of Domain-Agnostic Approaches
Domain-agnostic (or domain-neutral) software is designed to function across multiple application areas without requiring users to learn new programming languages or adapt to domain-specific APIs. This is achieved by abstracting core functionalities and providing standardized interfaces or protocols, allowing applications to interoperate regardless of their underlying technology stacks (Savić et al., 2023; Margaria et al., 2021; Tosic et al., 2022). Such approaches are increasingly important for integrating diverse systems in fields like IoT, digital twins, and creative software (Savić et al., 2023; Tosic et al., 2022; Margaria et al., 2021; Hamido & Itabora’i, 2022).
Mechanisms and Technologies
- Standardized Protocols and Data Formats: Open Sound Control (OSC) is widely used in audiovisual and creative tools because it is supported by many programming languages and platforms, acting as a mediator for real-time data exchange between client and target software (Tiraboschi et al., 2023; Latupeirissa & Bresin, 2023; Hamido & Itabora’i, 2022; Wright, 2005). JSON is also commonly used for representing and exchanging structured data in a language-agnostic way (Tiraboschi et al., 2023).
- Ontologies and Semantic Web: For more complex, cross-domain interoperability, semantic web technologies and ontologies provide a shared vocabulary and structure, enabling systems to exchange data with unambiguous meaning (Savić et al., 2023; Tosic et al., 2022).
- Service-Oriented and Microservice Architectures: Loosely coupled services, often exposed via RESTful APIs, allow for scalable, language-neutral integration across domains (Savić et al., 2023; De et al., 2021; Sosa-Reyna et al., 2018).
Example Table: Technologies Enabling Domain-Agnostic Interoperability
| Technology/Approach | Purpose | Example Domains | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| OSC Protocol | Real-time, language-agnostic messaging | Audio, robotics, IoT | (Tiraboschi et al., 2023; Latupeirissa & Bresin, 2023; Hamido & Itabora’i, 2022; Wright, 2005) |
| JSON | Standardized data exchange | Audio, web, IoT | (Tiraboschi et al., 2023; Tosic et al., 2022) |
| Ontologies (e.g., SAREF) | Semantic interoperability | IoT, smart buildings | (Savić et al., 2023; Tosic et al., 2022) |
| RESTful APIs | Platform-agnostic service integration | Automotive, IoT | (De et al., 2021; Sosa-Reyna et al., 2018) |
Figure 1: Key technologies for domain-agnostic interoperability across software domains.
Benefits and Limitations
- Benefits: Domain-agnostic tools lower barriers for users, enable cross-domain collaboration, and facilitate integration of heterogeneous systems (Savić et al., 2023; Margaria et al., 2021; Tosic et al., 2022; Latupeirissa & Bresin, 2023).
- Limitations: Achieving true domain-agnosticism often requires expertise in semantic modeling, and some protocols or tools may still have platform-specific constraints (Savić et al., 2023; Latupeirissa & Bresin, 2023; Tosic et al., 2022).
Conclusion
Domain-agnostic approaches, supported by open protocols like OSC, standardized data formats, and semantic technologies, are crucial for enabling broad interoperability and user-friendly integration across diverse software systems. These strategies reduce the need for new programming languages and foster collaboration across domains.
References
Tiraboschi, M., Papetti, S., & Avanzini, F. (2023). Just a Sounding Object Notation: Sharing Objects for Sonic Interaction Design with JSON and OSC. 2023 4th International Symposium on the Internet of Sounds, 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1109/ieeeconf59510.2023.10335232
Savić, G., Segedinac, M., Konjovic, Z., Vidaković, M., & Dutina, R. (2023). Towards a Domain-Neutral Platform for Sustainable Digital Twin Development. Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813612
Latupeirissa, A., & Bresin, R. (2023). PepperOSC: enabling interactive sonification of a robot’s expressive movement. Journal on Multimodal User Interfaces, 17, 231-239. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12193-023-00414-9
Tosic, M., Coelho, F., Nouwt, B., Rua, D., Tomcic, A., & Pesic, S. (2022). Towards a Cross-domain Semantically Interoperable Ecosystem. Proceedings of the Fifteenth ACM International Conference on Web Search and Data Mining. https://doi.org/10.1145/3488560.3508496
Margaria, T., Chaudhary, H., Guevara, I., Ryan, S., & Schieweck, A. (2021). The Interoperability Challenge: Building a Model-Driven Digital Thread Platform for CPS. **, 393-413. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89159-6_25
De, S., Mottok, J., & Brada, P. (2021). Design Approach to Platform Agnostic Service API Modeling for Interoperability of Cross-enterprise Vehicle Applications. 2021 International Conference on Applied Electronics (AE), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.23919/ae51540.2021.9542890
Hamido, O., & Itabora’i, P. (2022). OSC-Qasm: Interfacing Music Software with Quantum Computing. **, 372-382. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29956-8_24
Sosa-Reyna, C., Tello-Leal, E., & Alabazares, D. (2018). Methodology for the model-driven development of service oriented IoT applications. J. Syst. Archit., 90, 15-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sysarc.2018.08.008
Wright, M. (2005). Open Sound Control: an enabling technology for musical networking. Organised Sound, 10, 193 - 200. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1355771805000932