1. CORBA Within the OS & Its Implementation
Emily Stephanian

2. What is CORBA Common Object Request Broker Architecture
Designed and created by the Object Management Group
Not a working product, but rather a specification
Purpose: to facilitate the communication between systems that are deployed on dissimilar platforms
You can kind of think of it like a Software Bus
Utilizes remote invocations

3. Remote Invocations How it works: Client obtains object reference
Client uses same code used in the local invocation to make the remote invocation (substitutes object reference for remote instance)
ORB examines object reference —> discovers target object is remote
ORB routes invocation out over the network to remote object’s ORB

4. Main Components Object Request Broker (ORB)
CORBA Interface Defining Language (IDL)
Implementation of Common Object Services (COS)
Common Frameworks
Internet Inter ORB Protocol (IIOP)

5. Object Request Broker (ORB)
Middleware between the client request for some sort of service from some element and the achievement of that request
Middleware: software that acts as a link between an OS/database and an application (usually on a network)

6. Object Request Broker (ORB)
Provides location transparency (use of names to identify network resources rather than their actual location)
Uses remote procedure calls (when a program causes a procedure to execute in a different address space)
Promotes interoperability of distributed object systems
Other features: distributed transactions, real-time scheduling
Enables systems to be built by piecing together fragments from different providers

7. CORBA Interface Defining Language (IDL)
Special language that allows for the expression of the object interface
(basically a transitional language between specification languages like UML and coding languages)

8. Implementation of Common Object Services
Selection of services that are defined and accessible so as to aid the ORB
Specify the rudimentary distributed computing services
i.e. Naming Services, Security Services

9. Common Frameworks AKA Horizontal CORBA Facilities
Deals with interface facilities and system management facilities
“Horizontal” is in its name because it is proposing that the facilities within this component are versatile, and are frequented amongst numerous application domains

10. Internet Inter ORB Protocols (IIOP)
TCP/IP implementation of the General Inter ORB Protocol (which provides a set of message structures for interaction between ORBs)
Assumes the client/server model
Passes requests and receives replies through the Transport layer using TCP
Address is based on the target’s (server’s) port number and IP address

11. Components Working Together

12. CORBA-Based Applications
Examples:
IBM Integration Bus
Java/C++ Application
Also used in:
Object-Oriented Interfaces
Real-Time Operating systems
Embedded Applications/Systems

13. IBM Integration Bus Components: Object Request Broker CORBA Server
Naming Service
CORBARequest Node

14. Implementation in Java
Components:
Object Request Broker
CORBA Server
Client/Server
IDL

15. Problems with CORBA & its Decline
Technology issues:
Insufficient security features
Complexity (implementation)
Doesn’t provide a versioning mechanism
Procedural issues:
There are no entry qualifications to participate in the standardization process
RFPs often call for a technology that is unproven
Vendors respond to RFPs even when they have known technical flaws
The OMG does not require a reference implementation for a specification to be adopted

16. Summary
CORBA is a standard designed to facilitate the communication between systems that are deployed on dissimilar platforms
Object-Oriented Interfaces
Based off of the Object Management Architecture standard
OS independent
Programming language independent
Decline in use for a multitude of reasons

17. References
Land, Ulrich, and Rudolf Schreiner. Developing Secure Distributed Systems with CORBA, Artech House, ProQuest Ebook Central, com.proxy.libraries.smu.edu/lib/southernmethodist/detail.action?docID=227602
OMG. “Object Management Architecture.” Object Management Architecture, Object Management Group, 12 Jan. 2016,
Oracle. “Transactions Sample CORBA Java/C++ XA Application.” Transactions Sample CORBA Java/C++ XA Application, BEA Systems, 2000, docs.oracle.com/cd/E13211_01/wle/wle50/transact/trxsamxa.htm.
Sommerville, Ian. “CORBA – Common Object Request Broker Architecture.” CORBA, Saint Andrews College, Jan. 2008, ifs.host.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Books/SE9/Web/DistribSys/Corba.html.
Goddard, Steve. “CORBA.” Distributed Operating Systems. 20, Nov. 2017, Lincoln, University of Lincoln-Nebraska.
Traoré, Issa. “CORBA-Based Architecture.” Electrical & Computer Engineering. Chapter 6, 20 Nov. 2017, Victoria, University of Victoria.