Lecture Notes: CORBA

Introduction

• Presenter: Karavith Saxena, Mtech IT student at IBS DAVV.
• Guidance by: Professor Dr. Nitin Nagar.
• Purpose: Part of Mtech internal assessment.

Topics Covered

• Why CORBA?
• What is CORBA?
• How CORBA works?
• Key elements of CORBA.
• Applications of CORBA.
• Features of CORBA.

Why Study CORBA?

• Problem: Software incompatibility due to different programming languages (C, C++, Java, etc).
• Solution: In 1989, 29 MNCs aimed to resolve incompatibility issues, leading to the creation of CORBA.
• Objective: Ensure software developed in any language runs properly, regardless of technical stack.
• Initiative: Led to the formation of the Object Management Group (OMG) in 1989.

What is CORBA?

• Definition: Common Object Request Broker Architecture.
• Function: Supports multiple programming languages.
• Mechanism: Normalizes method call semantics between application objects in same or remote spaces.
• Role: Acts as middleware, not confined to two-tier or three-tier architecture.

CORBA Mechanism

• Object Request Broker (ORB): Connects objects of heterogeneous types.
• **Types of Objects: **
  • Service Provider Object: Server-side functionalities.
  • Client Object: Requires services from service providers.

Key Elements of CORBA

• Interface Definition Language (IDL): Implements CORBA, supports multiple systems and languages.
• ORB Core: Request-reply protocol between client and server, manages process operations.
• Object Adapter: Server-side, bridges CORBA objects and programming language interfaces.
• Skeleton: Server-side, generated by IDL compiler in server language.
• Client Proxies/Stubs: Client-side, generated by IDL compiler in client language.
• Implementation Repository: Activates and locates servers.
• Interface Repository: Provides information about registered IDL interfaces.

Applications of CORBA

• RMI in Java: Remote method invocation for system interaction.
• Communication: Between client and server across different OS, languages, and hardware.
• Distributed Applications: Ideal for heterogeneous distributed systems like the internet.

Features of CORBA

• Language Independence: Supports multiple languages (Java, C++, C, Smalltalk, Perl).
• OS Independence: Compatible with multiple OS (Linux, Unix, Windows, Mac).
• Freedom from Technologies: Facilitates communication across different tech stacks.
• Strong Data Typing: No restrictions on data types usage.
• Efficient Data Transfer: Binary data compression saves memory.

Conclusion

• Standard: Defined by OMG, supports multiple platforms and languages.
• Management by IDL: Provides a platform for diverse software and data types.

Closing

• Queries and Feedback: Welcome in the comment section.
• Engagement: Encouraged to like the video if found helpful.