Entering ORB-it - object request broker; Object Management Group's Common Object Request Broker Architecture - includes related article on Corba-compliant ORBs - Technology Information

Software Magazine, Jan, 1997 by Julie Bort

"In the end, you have to go with someone you know and someone who will be around in five years from now when ORBs will be shrink-wrapped," advises Sprint's Strand. For now, good old-fashioned research will be the key to finding the right vendors. Prospective suppliers should be willing to offer evaluation copies, references and other assistance, including training or consultants that are familiar with their technologies.

Beyond research, end users need to examine vendor plans to support future technologies. For example, the OMG is considering a number of RFPs to add functionality to the Corba spec (see "Corba: A Work in Progress," pg. 91). Mostly though, vendors are not waiting for new functionality to be branded in Corba. For example, OMG has an RFP in the works to support Java, but Visigenic and Iona already offer Java ORBs.

Related article: CORBA; A WORK IN PROGRESS

If the OMG has any say, Corba-compliant ORBs will offer a heartier mix of services. The group is working on a number of RFPs to add technology to its architecture. These technologies include:

* Java Language Mapping for the OMG IDL specification language. The Java Mapping spec will allow access and implementation of Corba objects within programs written in Java.

* Interoperability between Corba ORBs and Microsoft's Component Object Model (COM), otherwise known as ActiveX.

* A common vision of the OMG's Internet Inter-ORB protocol. IIOP has been touted as the potential upgrade from HTTP, essentially because Netscape Communications has announced that it will deploy ORB IIOP technology.

* Enhancements designed to manage asynchronous messages in distributed object systems. Today, Corba-defined ORBs operate synchronously, meaning they must wait for a process to be acted upon before the next process can begin. Other types of middleware, such as messaging-oriented middleware, operate asynchronously, so that messages need not be acted upon immediately and applications need not stop to wait for a response.

* A service for printing documents. This facility will handle management -- scheduling, spooling and locating -- of print servers and routing of print jobs, from simple documents to high-volume production printing.