CORBA is a mechanism in software for normalising the method-call
semantics between application objects that reside either in the
same address space (application) or remote address space (same
host, or remote host on a network).
In the UTMC context, the
technical standard defines a CORBA interface to and from the UTMC
common database. Anyone interested in UTMC and CORBA should read
this article on the
Rise and Fall of CORBA.
In 1997 CORBA was a strong choice for UTMC server
communications. Over a decade on it is time to move on to use SOAP. This will also
bring the data object definition in to the 21st century perhaps
with some accurate and reliable object definitions. The key
advantages of SOAP include:
- Using SOAP over HTTP allows for easier
communication through proxies and firewalls than previous remote
execution technology.
- SOAP is versatile enough to allow for the use of different
transport protocols. The standard stacks use HTTP as a transport
protocol, but other protocols are also usable (e.g., SMTP).
- SOAP is platform independent.
- SOAP is language independent.
- SOAP is simple and extensible.
There is provision in the technical standard for SOAP, however
no WSDLs or XSDs have ever been created. I guess its up to me
then!