Model-Based Standards Work in Finance, Healthcare, Robotics, Avionics to be Featured at Upcoming OMG Meeting; April 26-30, 2004, in St. Louis, MO USA.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

NEEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 16, 2004

Members of the Object Management Group(TM) (OMG(TM)) will meet in St. Louis, MO, USA, April 26-30, 2004 at a meeting sponsored by The Boeing Company (www.boeing.com), Express Scripts, Inc. (www.expressscripts.com), and Object Computing, Inc. (www.ociweb.com). Attendees will advance the organization's standards work and participate in information days and tutorials.

Electronic Payment Interoperability Initiative

The Electronic Payment Interoperability Working Group will complete and issue a Request for Information to the financial industry, soliciting input on requirements for a planned electronic payment gateway standard to be defined using OMG's Model Driven Architecture(R) (MDA(R).

Interoperability Requirements in Healthcare Information Day

On Thursday, April 29, healthcare provider companies and industry standards organizations will explore business challenges and interoperability requirements in healthcare and the role of modeling at a day-long session including user-company case studies, standards organizations' descriptions of their role in healthcare IT, and a panel discussion.

OMG Specifications in Robotics

The Japan Robot Association (JARA; www.jara.jp) will kick off a major new standards initiative in robotics applications portability with a presentation describing their use of OMG's Common Object Request Broker Architecture(R) (CORBA(R)) in robotics software.

Model Integrated Computing in Avionics

On Tuesday, April 27, the Model-Integrated Computing Platform Special Interest Group will present an information day including a presentation on integration in avionics based on OMG's MDA.

Modeling Standards Work

Metadata and metamodeling standards save enterprises millions of dollars every year. In St. Louis, OMG's Analysis and Design Platform Task Force (PTF) will review revised draft proposals for the MetaObject Facility(TM) (MOF(TM)) 2.0 Facility and Lifecycle specification; MOF-based Queries, Views, and Transformations; and Versioning. Members also plan to initiate work on a standard transformation of MOF 2.0 models to text.

New Computing Infrastructure Standards

The Middleware and Related Services PTF will review revised drafts of three future specifications: Quality of Service for CORBA Components; Streams for CORBA Components; and Web Services for Enterprise Collaboration. The group plans to initiate work on a new model-based standards - one for access management; the other for configuration and application management. They will also start work on two mappings to OMG IDL, the foundation for CORBA - one covering Web Services Definition Language (WSDL); the other updating the mapping to the still-popular C programming language.

The Real-time, Embedded, and Specialized Systems PTF will review a revised draft of the Model-Level Testing and Debugging specification, and initial draft proposals for the Global Navigation Systems Client Services specification.

New Domain Standards

OMG's Business Enterprise Integration Domain Task Force (DTF) will review a revised draft Software Portfolio Management Facility specification, and kick off work on a model-based Enterprise Organization Structure facility standard. The C4I DTF will review revised proposals for a Generic Sonar Interface standard, and initiate work on two new standards: one defining a Shared Operational Picture Exchange Services Trusted Information Exchange; the other for a set of Combat Management Systems High Level Services. The Manufacturing Technology and Industrial Systems DTF will review a proposed draft Product Lifecycle Management model and service. Finally, the Life Sciences Research DTF will review initial proposed draft standards for a Compound Collections model, and the Life Sciences Analysis Engine and, its evaluation complete, start the final series of votes to standardize a Life Sciences Identifiers model and set of interfaces.

UML(TM) Certification Examinations

For the first time at an OMG meeting, attendees may take the organization's new UML Certification examinations. No pre-registration is necessary to take the tests, which will be offered at an adjacent testing site all day Monday through Wednesday. For more information about the certification program, see www.omg.org/uml-certification.

OMG Tutorials and Information Sessions

Six tutorials will survey and highlight OMG specifications and technology areas, including a "Survey of OMG Specifications", "Introduction to UML 2.0", "Using MDA for Metamodeling", "The new Data Distribution Service Specification and its Application to Realtime Systems", "Overview of the Software Communications Architecture", and "Protection Profiles and the OMG Technology Adoption Process". Meeting sponsors Boeing Company, Express Scripts, Inc., and Object Computing, Inc. will speak at a plenary session on Wednesday, April 28.

Open and freely available, OMG specifications have been implemented by many vendors, universities, and other groups. In St. Louis on Tuesday and Wednesday, a number of implementors will display their products at a central demonstration area.

This meeting description is based on preliminary information. OMG Task Forces will finalize their agendas for the meeting during the week of April 12th and post them at www.omg.org/news/meetings/tc/agendas.htm.

Links to Meeting Information

OMG's home page is www.omg.org. The meeting schedule, and links to agendas and registration for members appear at www.omg.org/registration/registration-tc.htm, and for guests at www.omg.org/news/meetings/tc/guest.htm. Information about the MDA is collected at www.omg.org/mda. All OMG specifications may be downloaded free of charge from www.omg.org/technology/documents/specifications.htm.

About The OMG

With well-established standards covering software from design and development, through deployment and maintenance, and extending to evolution to future platforms, the Object Management Group (OMG) supports a full-lifecycle approach to enterprise integration which maximizes ROI, the key to successful IT. OMG's standards cover multiple operating systems, programming languages, middleware and networking infrastructures, and software development environments. OMG's Modeling standards, the basis for the MDA, include the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and Common Warehouse Metamodel (CWM). CORBA, the Common Object Request Broker Architecture, is OMG's standard open platform with hundreds of millions of deployments running today.

Headquartered in Needham, MA, USA, with a U.S. government representative in Washington, DC, and international marketing representatives in Japan, the UK, and Germany, the Object Management Group is an international, open membership, not-for-profit computer industry specifications consortium. OMG member companies write, adopt, and maintain the organization's standards following a mature, open process. All current OMG specifications may be downloaded without charge from the organization's website, www.omg.org; the site also provides additional information about OMG and its activities. For information on joining the OMG, or questions not addressed on the website, please contact OMG headquarters by email at [e-mail], by phone at [phone], or by fax at [phone].

Note to editors: The OMG Object Management Group Logo(R), MDA(R), Model Driven Architecture(R), UML(R), CORBA(R), CORBA Academy(R), The Information Brokerage(R), XMI(R) and IIOP(R) are registered trademarks of the Object Management Group. OMG(TM), Object Management Group(TM), CORBA logos(TM), Model Driven Development(TM), MDD(TM), OMG Interface Definition Language (IDL)(TM), The Architecture of Choice for a Changing World(TM), CORBAservices(TM), CORBAfacilities(TM), CORBAmed(TM), CORBAnet(TM), Integrate 2004(TM), Middleware That's Everywhere(TM), Unified Modeling Language(TM), The UML Cube logo(TM), MOF(TM), CWM(TM), The CWM Logo(TM), Model Driven Architecture Logos(TM) and the XMI Logo(TM) are trademarks of the Object Management Group. All other products or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners.