Middleware is computer software that connects software components or applications. Component-based software engineering (CBSE (also known as Component-Based Development (CBD or Software Componentry) is a branch of the Software engineering The software consists of a set of enabling services that allow multiple processes running on one or more machines to interact across a network. This technology evolved to provide for interoperability in support of the move to coherent distributed architectures, which are used most often to support and simplify complex, distributed applications. Interoperability is a property referring to the ability of diverse systems and organizations to work together (inter-operate An application made up of distinct components in separate runtime environments usually on different platforms connected via a network It includes web servers, application servers, and similar tools that support application development and delivery. The term web server can mean one of two things A Computer program that is responsible for accepting HTTP requests from web clients which are In n-tier architecture an application server is a Server that hosts an API to expose Business Logic and Business Processes for use by other Middleware is especially integral to modern information technology based on XML, SOAP, Web services, and service-oriented architecture. Don't change "Extensible" SOAP (see below for name and origins is a protocol for exchanging XML -based messages over Computer networks normally using A Web service (also Web Service) is defined by the W3C as "a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction Service-oriented architecture ( SOA) is a method for Systems development and integration where functionality is grouped around Business processes

It sits "in the middle" between application software working on different operating systems. Application software is a subclass of Computer software that employs the capabilities of a computer directly and thoroughly to a task that the user wishes to perform An operating system (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a Computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination It is similar to the middle layer of a three-tier single system architecture, except that it is stretched across multiple systems or applications. In Software engineering, multi-tier architecture (often referred to as n-tier architecture) is a Client-server architecture in which an application Examples include database systems, telecommunications software, transaction monitors, and messaging-and-queueing software. A database management system ( DBMS) is Computer software designed for the purpose of managing Databases DBMSes may use any of a variety of Data models A Transaction Processing System To be considered a transaction processing system the computer must pass the ACID test.

The distinction between operating system and middleware functionality is, to some extent, arbitrary. While core kernel functionality can only be provided by the operating system itself, some functionality previously provided by separately sold middleware is now integrated in operating systems. A typical example is the TCP/IP stack for telecommunications, nowadays included in virtually every operating system.

In simulation technology, middleware is generally used in the context of the high level architecture (HLA) that applies to many distributed simulations. It is a layer of software that lies between the application code and the run-time infrastructure. Middleware generally consists of a library of functions, and enables a number of applications – simulations or federates in HLA terminology – to page these functions from the common library rather than re-create them for each application

Definitions

Middleware is the enabling technology of enterprise application integration. Enterprise Application Integration (EAI is defined as the uses of Software and computer systems architectural principles to integrate a set of enterprise computer applications It describes a piece of software that connects two or more software applications, allowing them to exchange data.

ObjectWeb defines middleware as: "The software layer that lies between the operating system and applications on each side of a distributed computing system in a network. An operating system (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a Computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination "^[1]

Origins

Middleware is a relatively new addition to the computing landscape. It gained popularity in the 1980s as a solution to the problem of how to link newer applications to older legacy systems, although the term had been in use since 1968. ^[2] It also facilitated distributed processing, the connection of multiple applications to create a larger application, usually over a network. Distributed computing deals with Hardware and Software Systems containing more than one processing element or Storage element concurrent

Organizations

IBM and Oracle are major vendors providing middleware software. Vendors such as SAP, TIBCO, Mercator Software, Crossflo, Vitria and webMethods were specifically founded to provide Web-oriented middleware tools. TIBCO Software Inc is a software company with headquarters in Palo Alto, California. webMethods, which was founded in 1996, is a company which provides business process integration Software. The World Wide Web (commonly shortened to the Web) is a system of interlinked Hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. Groups such as the Apache Software Foundation and the ObjectWeb Consortium encourage the development of open source middleware. The OW2 Consortium (formed in January 2007 from the merger of the ObjectWeb Consortium and Orientware) is a not-for-profit international consortium mainly Open source is a development methodology which offers practical accessibility to a product's source (goods and knowledge

Use of middleware

Middleware services provide a more functional set of application programming interfaces to allow an application to:

• Locate transparently across the network, thus providing interaction with another service or application
• Be independent from network services
• Be reliable and available always

when compared to the operating system and network services.

Types of middleware

Hurwitz's classification system organizes the many types of middleware that are currently available. Hurwitz is a surname and may refer to Aaron Hurwitz, musician see Live on Breeze Hill Adolf Hurwitz (1859-1919 German mathematician ^[3] These classifications are based on scalability and recoverability:

• Remote Procedure Call — Client makes calls to procedures running on remote systems. Remote procedure call ( RPC) is an Inter-process communication technology that allows a Computer program to cause a Subroutine or procedure to Can be asynchronous or synchronous. Asynchrony, in the general meaning is the state of not being synchronized.
• Message Oriented Middleware — Messages sent to the client are collected and stored until they are acted upon, while the client continues with other processing. Message-oriented middleware (MOM is a client/server infrastructure that increases the interoperability portability and flexibility of an application by allowing the application
• Object Request Broker — This type of middleware makes it possible for applications to send objects and request services in an object-oriented system. In Distributed computing, an object request broker (ORB is a piece of Middleware software that allows programmers to make program calls from one computer to
• SQL-oriented Data Access — middleware between applications and database servers.

Other sources include these additional classifications:

• Transaction processing monitors — Provides tools and an environment to develop and deploy distributed applications. A Transaction Processing System To be considered a transaction processing system the computer must pass the ACID test. Software deployment is all of the activities that make a Software system available for use An application made up of distinct components in separate runtime environments usually on different platforms connected via a network ^[4]
• Application servers — software installed on a computer to facilitate the serving (running) of other applications. In n-tier architecture an application server is a Server that hosts an API to expose Business Logic and Business Processes for use by other
• Enterprise Service Bus — An abstraction layer on top of an Enterprise Messaging System. In Computing, an enterprise service bus (ESB refers to a Software architecture construct

See also

• Comparison of business integration software

References

External links

• Internet2 Middleware Initiative
• Dynamically Self Configuring Automotive Systems
• Middleware Abstraction Layer
• SWAMI - Swedish Alliance for Middleware Infrastructure
• Element (commercial offering from Enea)
• Open Middleware Infrastructure Institute (OMII-UK)
• Common XML Vocabularies
• Specific XML Vocabularies