Binary Component Model (BCM): A Lightweight Header-Only C++ Framework for Modular Component-Based Systems

Component-based software architectures are essential for building modular, maintainable systems across diverse domains including embedded systems, scientific computing, and distributed applications. However, existing component frameworks (CORBA, COM, OSGi) impose significant complexity through Interface Definition Languages, code generation, and heavy runtime containers. We present the Binary Component Model (BCM), a lightweight, header-only C++11 framework that provides core component-based architecture capabilities with minimal overhead. BCM enables dynamic component loading, explicit dependency injection, and binary interface contracts using only eight header files (six platform-independent plus two platform-specific) and standard C++11 features, with a learning curve substantially shorter than that of industrial frameworks.