Middleware

Lecture 2 -- part 5

Middleware

• Definition
• Middleware is a set of common business-unaware services that enable applications and end-users to interact with each other across a network
• Distributed system services that have standard programming interfaces and protocols 
• Services sit in the middle above OS and network software
• and below industry-specific applications

• Examples
• ftp, email
• web browsers
• database drivers and gateways
• CORBA (Common object request broker architecture)
• Microsoft .NET
• Java RMI, JINI, Javaspaces, JMS
• Web services software -- SOAP, REST

Functional View of Middleware

• Information exchange services
• Application-specific services
• Specialized services
• e,g,m transaction services and replication services for distributed databases
• group services for collaborative applications, specialized services for multimedia applications
• business-unaware
• Management and support service
• needed for locating distributed resources and administrating resources acorss the network