Distributed Object Technology: Concepts and Applications - Softcover

Ryan, Timothy W.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0133489965 ISBN 13: 9780133489965

Publisher: Prentice Hall, 1996

Synopsis

This texts presents a unifying "vision" of how users would like to see information systems accessed to tie together all the concepts presented. It discusses DOT technologies, COBRA, OLE and the WWW and how each will impact the way in which we organize and access information, both separately and together.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

This universe is one where an individual or a corporation has unprecedented ability to acquire, understand, manipulate, and exploit high-value information and processes. In the distributed object universe, there is the prospect of access to the information we want, when we want it, in the form we want it.
Data that until now has been hidden away because of its origin or its location will become more readily available. Processes that are difficult to leverage from one business area to another become much easier to leverage across business boundaries. The ease with which nontechnical users will be able to combine and disseminate information will increase significantly.
Technology companies like Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Netscape Communications, and Oracle, as well as information technology consumers such as Citibank and Motorola point to distributed object technology (such as CORBA, OLE, and some of the newer Web technologies) as one of the best paths to making information systems the resource we really need them to be. No one is saying it will be easy, but with the synergy of object technology and distributed client/server computing, we will improve our ability to control and understand information within and between organizations.
In terms of actual implementation technology, nothing compares to the contribution that is being and will be made by Distributed Object Technology (DOT). DOT will change the way we think about computing and networks. It will impact virtually every industry, every application developer, and every user. Along with improvements in lower-level network hardware and software, it will help facilitate the coming multimedia revolution. It will provide significant contributions to managing the information explosion we are currently experiencing. These changes may occur gradually, but they will most certainly occur.
This book is addressed to information systems professionals at many levels. The earlier and later chapters are useful to managers who need to understand the impacts of distributed object computing. The middle chapters are particularly suited to developers who are interested in understanding the basics of DOT.
With a nod to Dr. David Taylor and the structure of his book Object-oriented Information Systems, this book is structured in distinct layers. Part I sets the stage for the following parts. It discusses the why and basic what of DOT. Part II goes into more depth on the what of DOT. Part III explains in greater detail the most common and robust expressions of DOT. Part IV comes back up to the management level to talk about how DOT is and can be integrated with the rest of today's information systems environment.
The book provides an overview of the concepts at the foundation of distributed object technology. It then illustrates the application of these concepts via examples based on current DOT technology. Part I outlines a vision for the use of DOT. Chapter 1 discusses why users want and need services provided by DOT. It explains the increasing demand for text, graphics, images, and multimedia services that are shared by widely dispersed workgroups collaborating on both simple and complex projects and tasks. This virtual proximity is becoming more important as users depend more and more on their information systems as critical components in all of their activities. Chapter 1 also introduces a primary theme of the book: a vision for how users would like to see information systems accessed. This scenario for the future will be a unifying factor in how distributed object technology will be presented in the book. Chapter 2 introduces the technology necessary to provide DOT services.
Objects organize data and help infuse it with meaning. When interfaces, databases, and networks are enhanced with object technology, they are more powerful individually as well as synergistically.
Chapter 3 begins the part that introduces DOT concepts. It discusses how object modeling improves the way computer professionals think when applying information technology to real-world business needs. Chapter 4 covers how graphical user interfaces have significantly improved the usability of computer systems but have not fully exploited the capabilities of object technology. Object-oriented graphical user interfaces (OO GUIs) take the next step in improving user interface usability. Chapter 5 provides a discussion of how object-oriented databases provide context to information. This is in contrast with hierarchical or relational database systems that do a good job of storing or retrieving data but provide very little help with understanding how the data they store can be used. In Chapter 6, the application of object-orientation to networking is explained. Today's networks provide interconnectivity, but require object-oriented developers to give up the tools that work so welcor OO GUIs, languages, and databases. OO networks allow developers to extend the usefulness of OO technology across the network without requiring significant additional effort.
Chapter 7 brings it all together, integrating interfaces, data bases, and networks in a unified, object-oriented whole.
Chapter 8 introduces the concept of Enterprise Views. This chapter will focus on how DOT is well-suited to helping users more effectively organize all of the business data that is available to them.
Chapter 9 begins the application part. Chapters 9 through 11 discuss, in a more detailed fashion, how distributed object technology works and has been expressed in various tools.
A theme running through these chapters is the vision described in Chapter 1. That vision is of an information systems environment that is difficult, if not impossible, to support using more traditional methods of application development.
It is still a challenge, but much more achievable using the kinds of technology described in this book. Many of the technologies available in the distributed object arena are somewhat difficult to grasp at first. To simplify the discussion, relatively simple examples and languages are used for teaching purposes. For CORBA technologies, Smalltalk is an excellent teaching vehicle for many of these concepts. For OLE, Visual Basic provides easy to use and understand interfaces. For the Web, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is used.
Chapter 9 discusses CORBA and CORBAservices. It discusses how new information is created in a distributed object environment via Lifecycle services, shows how users will find information in the DOT environment using Naming services, and talks about how DOT supports linking objects, including the value of the containment (or folder) model of organizing information. It elaborates on how Event services help distributed objects work together over more extended periods of time and explains how objects can be used in a transaction with Transaction services. It then discusses the Object Request Broker (ORB). The ORB is the engine of a CORBA environment. The chapter ends with discussion about how clients and servers need a contract in order to work together effectively. The Interface Definition Language (IDL) is the language of this type of contract. This chapter will illustrate how IDL works and its role in the DOT world.
Chapter 10 discusses OLE Remote Automation and how it supports networked objects. Chapter 11 discusses how Universal Resource Locators (URLs), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and HTML are rudimentary distributed object technologies and will be supplemented to more fully utilize the power and flexibility of DOT as found in CORBA and OLE.
Chapter 12 begins the final part, which focuses on how DOT will fit in with current information system technology. The chapter explains how DOT can wrap around mainframe legacy systems to improve maintainability and usability. Chapter 13 shows how Computer-Assisted Software Engineering (CASE) can leverage DOT and how DOT can leverage enterprise modeling. Systems and network management of the DOT infrastructure are presented in Chapter 14.
Perhaps the most significant area of impact for DOT is the corporate culture. Chapter 15 provides guidelines on how organizations may evolve to take advantage of DOT. The final chapter gives some vision of how DOT will affect the wider world of information distribution and usage. For example, how will news and entertainment be influenced by DOT? Chapter 16offers some perspectives on this question.

From the Back Cover

Distributed objects: Information and resources wherever you need them.

It's no wonder that more and more leading IS organizations are including distributed object technology in their strategic plans. Using distributed objects, you can give people throughout your organization easier ways to understand and take advantage of the critical information they need. Using distributed objects, you'll find it much easier to leverage processes across business boundaries—establishing closer connections with your customers, your suppliers, and other parts of your organization.

Distributed Object Technology is a concise guide to the concepts underlying distributed objects, the competing approaches, and how they're likely to be used in real-world, networked applications. Learn how distributed object models can deliver:

* Object-oriented GUIs that are significantly easier to use
* Object-oriented databases that provide not just data but context
* Object-oriented networks that are easier to manage and change
* Object modeling techniques that help you understand and support your enterprise

Understand each of the most important approaches to distributed object technologies, how they fit into your IS architecture, and how they support your business goals.

Learn about:

* CORBA and CORBA services
* OLE remote automation support for networked objects
* Objects on the Web—and how Web technologies such as URLs, HTTP and HTML lay the groundwork for a powerful, flexible distributed object architecture

Whether you are a manager or a technical professional, Distributed Object Technology gives you the information you need to plan, evaluate and implement distributed object technologies that will dramatically improve the way you do business.

Edition details

• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0133489965
• ISBN 13: 9780133489965
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224