OMG drives toward CORBA/DCE Interworking.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 15, 1997--The Object Management Group announces plans to develop a middleware interworking solution for environments that are composed of The Open Group's Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) and OMG's Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA/IIOP).

DCE is a suite of integrated software services that is part of a computing system's infrastructure and provides application interoperability and security across heterogeneous platforms. The Open Group provides DCE source code, which vendors incorporate in their products, a specification for use by developers, and a test suite used to validate conformance to the DCE standard. Vendors bundle DCE functions with their operating system offerings, providing customers interoperability and security for their distributed applications.

CORBA/IIOP is the Object Management Group's specification for portable, interoperable Object Request Brokers - the middleware that establishes the client-server relationships between objects. CORBA provides interoperability between applications on different machines in heterogeneous distributed environments and seamlessly interconnects multiple object systems. It allows applications to communicate with one another no matter where they reside on a network. As part of CORBA, the Internet Inter-ORB Protocol (IIOP) allows this communication to occur over the internet, with no extra programming required. CORBA/IIOP enables the handling of all kinds of complex applications over the Internet.

At the recent OMG Technical Meeting week in Austin, TX, the OMG Platform Technology Committee issued a Request For Proposal (RFP) to solicit solutions to interworking across DCE and CORBA middleware. Interworking is concerned with the exchange of meaningful information between computing elements. It will require precise specification of the behavior of the components under consideration without interfering with their respective computing models. This includes CORBA clients interacting with DCE servers, DCE clients interacting with CORBA servers and CORBAservices implemented using DCE services.

"Many organizations have applications already installed that are based on both DCE and CORBA," says Christopher Stone, president and CEO, OMG. "A DCE/CORBA Interworking specification will enable these applications to co-exist, help integrate legacy systems, and establish a migration path toward truly distributed Internet-based computing using CORBA/IIOP."

"JP Morgan is using DCE as a key component of its distributed computing architecture," said Tayo Ibukunle, vice president, Architecture Design. "Over time, we expect to employ CORBA technology as we seek to couple OO programming environments like Java, C++ and Smalltalk with critical distributed services such as those provided by DCE. The DCE/CORBA Interworking specification enables us to proceed with such an approach, while preserving our investment in DCE."

About the DCE/CORBA Interworking RFP

The DCE/CORBA Interworking RFP (orbos/97-03-19) solicits proposals for the following:

-- Application Level Interworking: CORBA clients interacting with DCE servers and DCE clients interacting with CORBA servers;

-- Provisioning CORBAservices and CORBAfacilities, e.g. security, naming, time, with existing DCE components, e.g. security.

The OMG actively encourages all companies to participate in the technology adoption process. By participating in OMG's open process, you and your company will help drive the worldwide standards adoption process, gain insight on new technology developments, attain competitive advantages, and acquire a significant head start in developing an implementation of adopted specifications.

OMG member companies planning to respond to the RFP must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) to OMG no later than 5:00 PM EST, June 20, 1997. Initial submissions to the RFP are due on November 10, 1997. Copies of the DCE/CORBA Interworking RFP may be obtained by calling OMG's main number at [phone] and requesting a copy of OMG document number orbos/97-03-19, or via the Web site located at: http://www.omg.org/library/schedule/ORBOS_RFP6.htm .

For questions regarding the OMG process, please contact Juergen Boldt, OMG Process Manager, at the OMG main number, or by email at: [e-mail].

About OMG

With a membership of over 750 software vendors, software developers and end users, OMG is developing "The Architecture for a Connected World." Established in 1989, OMG's mission is to promote the theory and practice of object technology for the development of distributed computing systems. The goal is to provide a common architectural framework for object oriented applications based on widely available interface specifications. OMG is headquartered in Framingham, MA, USA and has international marketing offices in the UK, Germany, Japan, Australia, and India. Additionally, OMG founded and produces CORBA Academy and sponsors the Object World series of Trade Shows and Conferences. For information on joining OMG or additional information, please contact OMG headquarters by phone at [phone], by fax at [phone], by email at: [e-mail]. OMG provides current information and services for Distributed Object Computing through The Information Brokerage on the World Wide Web at: http://www.omg.org .

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Note to editors: OMG, Object Management and the OMG logo are registered trademarks of the Object Management Group. The Information Brokerage, CORBA, IIOP, OMG Interface Definition Language, CORBAservices, CORBAfacilities, CORBAmed, and CORBAnet 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.

CONTACT: Object Management Group

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