SunSoft Inc believes that a Java Object Request Broker, JORB and Interface Definition Language compiler that it will be putting into beta test next month, and shipping in the spring, should eventually enable users to download interactive Java applets that are able to retrieve remote Object Management Group Corba objects automatically. At present, Java can distribute executables – applets – across the Internet to run on client systems, but that’s it. In future, SunSoft says, a user could select an item from an interactive catalogue downloaded as an applet, and have either more information or perhaps an order form for that item retrieved into the applet by the Java Request Broker. The Java Broker is seamlessly downloaded into the client Web browser with every applet and would automatically call up Corba objects on the retailer’s server, driven by the user’s interaction with the catalogue. The applet itself is written without network-level code, since the Java Request Broker handles the location of, connection to and communication with the remote object, providing single application programming interface for developers. Initially the Java Request Broker and Interface Definition Language compiler can be used only in conjunction with SunSoft’s own Neo object development environment and the services it supports, as part of a bundle of technology code-named JOE, which the company will unveil in a couple of weeks. Only when SunSoft migrates Neo and the Java Request Broker to use the Object Group’s TCP/IP-based Corba-to-Corba Internet Inter-ORB Protocol, which guarantees interoperability between objects passed between different Corba request brokers, will the Java Request Broker be able to interoperate with other vendors’ Corba objects. The addition of JOE will enable SunSoft to position Neo as an advanced Web server application development environment that goes beyond existing object-based HyperText Mark-up Language development systems such as NeXT Software Inc’s WebObjects (even though NeXT’s OpenStep is also used in Neo). Used in conjunction with the Iona Technologies Ltd’s Orbix request broker, which Neo supports, JOE should provide Web page access to Microsoft Corp Object Linking & Embedding objects too. Neo’s shared services can be modified and redeployed as a Web server application’s requirements evolve, the firm says. The server application can be written in any language for which a Corba Interface Definition Language language mapping exists. Client applications are written without regard for the server implementation. SunSoft is also preparing versions of its Workshop development tools tailored for Java. The licensing terms for the Java Request Broker and the Interface Definition Language compiler will be similar to those for Java itself.
