Larry Porter, IBM Full Talk: Download (Lotus Freelance 3.0)
Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) has established itself as a popular
way to do distributed programming in Java. A major advance on
socket-level
programming, it exploits the object-oriented features of the Java language
such as methods, classes, and objects, transforming these naturally and
almost seamlessly into distributed programming constructs.
As part of the JDK core, RMI is available on all compliant Java
implementations from
Java 1.1 onwards. RMI is a language-centric approach to distributed
object programming which requires that the entire distributed application
be programmed in Java and uses the proprietary Java Remote Method Protocol
(JRMP) for interactions between distributed objects.
Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) takes a language-neutral
approach which enables networks of distributed objects to contain code
written in more than one langage. CORBA is an open standard developed
under the auspices of the Object Management Group (OMG), an industry
consortium with over 800 members. In a CORBA network, Object Request
Brokers (ORBs) mediate requests between clients and servers in a
standardized
way. ORBs communicate with each other using the Internet Inter-ORB
Protocol (IIOP), a higher-level protocol based on TCP/IP that provides a
standard way to make method calls to remote objects
Because IIOP is a standard communications protocol that must be supported
by
all ORBs, CORBA provides interoperability between ORB products produced
by different vendors for a number of programming languages and platforms.
Other components of CORBA such as its Interface Definition Language (IDL)
and its programming language APIs for clients and implementations provide
portability for CORBA applications from one ORB to another. This
combination
of interoperability and portability means that customers can invest in
CORBA
knowing that they are not locked in to the products of a single vendor.
CORBA is also known for its robustness and scalability, making it a popular
choice for enterprise middleware.
Many users do not want to have to make the hard choice between the
usability
of RMI and the interoperability of CORBA. They also do not want to have to
deal with two different incompatible networking protocols that do not
interoperate with each other. Sun and IBM have responded to these customer
requirements by jointly developing RMI-IIOP, a new version of RMI that runs
over IIOP and interoperates with CORBA ORBs and CORBA objects programmed in
other languages. By making slight adjustments to the RMI programming APIs,
it has been possible to provide a single RMI programming model that
operates
with equivalent semantics over both JRMP and IIOP, allowing flexibilty for
customers in mixed or migration scenarios.
RMI-IIOP uses the recently adopted CORBA standards for Objects By Value
and the Java to IDL mapping. This allows it to work with any ORB that
supports these standards. Different ORBs can provide different qualities
of service, or can be part of a middleware stack providing additional
functionality such as transactions and persistence.
Larry's talk provides some background on Java and CORBA and then goes on
to describe RMI-IIOP, including some practical advice on getting started
with it.
About Larry: Larry Porter is an IBM advanced technologist currently working as part of a joint IBM-Sun team developing extensions to Java to allow Remote Method Invocation (RMI) to run over the Internet Inter-ORB Protocol (IIOP). He is also interested in Java for embedded systems, Java security and Java databases. Formerly he was the lead architect and designer of IBM^Rs voicemail product, DirectTalkMail. Larry has worked for IBM for the last 20 years in various management and technical positions in software development. He is an IBM UK Technical Staff Member, an IBM Master Inventor and a Fellow of the British Computer Society. Before joining IBM he completed a doctorate in Experimental Pyschology at the University of Oxford.
Graham Glass, ObjectSpace
About Graham:
Graham Glass, Chairman, Chief Technology Officer, and Co-Founder
Mr. Glass is the principal architect of the company's acclaimed solutions
including the ObjectSpace Voyager distributed computing platform, JGL - The
Generic Collection Library for Java, and C++ Component Series. Most
recently, Mr. Glass spearheaded development of Voyager Professional Edition
and its many breakthroughs for ease of use, performance and advanced
capabilities. Two books authored by Mr. Glass - UNIX for Programmers and
Users: A Complete Guide and The STL Primer - are used by many universities
including Stanford and the University of New York. He also initiated the
curriculum for object technology at the University of Texas at Dallas. Mr.
Glass graduated with honors from the University of Southampton, England,
where he received the British Computer Society award for the most
distinguished undergraduate student. He graduated magna cum laude from the
University of Texas at Dallas earning a master's degree in Computer
Science.
Mr. Glass is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Computer Science at the
University of Texas at Dallas.
Larry Rau - Lucent
Full Talk: Download (PowerPoint)
Isobelle Rouvellou - IBM
Providing the characteristics of reliable transaction processing for the new breed of business processes including long-running operations over the Internet is a challenge needing a new approach. This presentation describes the concepts, design, and early experience with such an approach.