  We describe a process calculus featuring high level constructs for
component-oriented programming in a distributed setting. We propose an
extension of the higher-order pi-calculus intended to capture several important
mechanisms related to component-based programming, such as dynamic update,
reconfiguration and code migration. In this paper, we are primarily concerned
with the possibility to build a distributed implementation of our calculus.
Accordingly, we define a low-level calculus, that describes how the high-level
constructs are implemented, as well as details of the data structures
manipulated at runtime. We also discuss current and future directions of
research in relation to our analysis of component-based programming.
