Subject: XML and CORBA Author: Kerry Raymond Email: kerry@dstc.edu.au Date: 1998/12/09 Forum: comp.text.xml
> I have been trying to explore the possibilities and scope for XML in 3-tier
> web applications, specifically to see how it fits in with technologies like
> CORBA and DCOM.
I am aware of two relationships between CORBA and XML.
1. The XMI (eXensible MetaData Interchange) specification is probably going to be adopted by the OMG in January 1999. This specification defines how to generate the DTD and corresponding XML for anything capable of being described by the OMG's Meta-Object Facility (MOF).
For example, UML can be described by the MOF, and hence the XMI spec can be applied to give the DTD for interchanging UML descriptions. Indeed, the UML DTD is included as an appendix as a demonstration of XMI's ability to define the interchange format for very large and complex systems like UML. At the last OMG meeting in November 1998, IBM, Oracle and Unisys did a live demonstration of interchanging UML descriptions between a number of UML tools, as a proof of concept of the XMI spec.
Much of the OMG's activities these days is in specific industry domains (e.g. telecommunications, healthcare, manufacturing, transport, etc). Many of these standards emerging from these groups will define their information model using the MOF. The benefits of using the MOF are:
automatic generation of CORBA IDL (and code) for creating, updating, retrieving and navigating the information content [courtesy of the MOF spec]
automatic generation of DTDs and XML for interchanging that information [courtesy of the XMI spec]
2. The CORBA component model expected to be submitted in early 1999 will use XML to define an interchange format for CORBA components.
Kerry
[Note: See also XML Metadata Interchange (XMI).]
Dr Kerry Raymond, Architecture Unit Leader E-mail: kerry@dstc.edu.au CRC for Distributed Systems Technology Phone: +61 7 3365 4310 University of Queensland 4072 Australia Fax: +61 7 3365 4311 =========================================== WWW: http://www.dstc.edu.au/kerry