Integrating Corba Objects in the WWW

Philippe Merle

WWW and Corba Worlds

• World Wide Web
  • A uniform user-friendly interface
  • Uniform resource locators
  • Universal document formats (HTML, MIME)
  • Really world-wide used

• Common Object Request Broker Architecture
  • Application interoperability
  • Through object technologies
  • Integrating legacy systems
  • And futureproofing new systems

• WWW + Corba
  • An integrated distributed computing infrastructure

Where to Put Objects in the WWW?

• Object integration in the three WWW parts for different goals
  • New web resources on the server side
  • Extensibility on the users' side
  • New features on the network infrastructure

Via Specific WWW Server Gateways

• New web services as Corba objects
• Specific gateway developments for each kind of object

Via a Generic WWW Server Gateway

• A generic gateway for all kinds of Corba objects (DII,IR)
• Representation, navigation and invocation of any Corba object

Unifying Communication Protocols

• IIOP as a new Web protocol with iiop:// URLs
• IIOP <-> HTTP protocol converter

Applets and Remote Objects

• Applets as front-ends for remote Corba objects
• Object invocations via gateways or IIOP

Applets and Local Objects

• Applets communicate with user's desktop environment
• Supported by Corba objects on a local Corba bus

Applets as Corba Objects

• For notification, retroaction and asynchronous events
• Users' objects invoked by server objects

Applets Communication

• Multi-users' communication, groupware and so on
• Communication between users' objects and server objects

A Web of Corba Objects

• Universal protocols: HTTP, IIOP
• A universal mobile code interpreter
• A universal object model: CORBA

Summary

• A seamless, smooth and step by step integration
• Several ways of integration for different purposes
• Not a unique solution

• The future distributed computing infrastructure could be
  the merge of the WWW and Corba worlds

• Anyway,
  • Replace Corba by AnsaWare, OLE/COM or DCE
  • Take Java, Visual Basic Script as mobile codes
• This overview is always valid

• But what about security issues?