COM and CORBA® Side by Side: Architectures, Strategies, and Implementations [Paperback]

Jason Pritchard (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0201379457 | ISBN-13: 978-0201379457 | Publication Date: July 25, 1999 | Edition: 1

The COM and CORBA technologies are often pitted against each other, viewed simply as competing architectures for creating distributed solutions. While the most significant difference between COM and CORBA is their support for different operating system platforms, software developers must realize that each technology has its own strengths that clearly differentiate it from the other. In COM and CORBA(r) Side by Side, Jason Pritchard objectively describes when and how developers should use both technologies--together or separately--to maximize the success of their designs. This book helps software practitioners analyze and transcend their personal biases toward COM or CORBA so that they may objectively seek the best implementation strategy. The author helps you cut through vendor marketing hype by presenting a clear, logical formula to help you choose between the two technologies. In short, COM and CORBA(r) Side by Side is an invaluable resource for making informed, critical decisions about using one or both of these technologies in your next project.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

For today's distributed computing, the two biggest players are undoubtedly Microsoft DCOM and OMG CORBA. Evaluating which standard is best for your organization is the main objective of COM and CORBA Side by Side. Written for the IS manager or designer planning for distributed computing, this book provides a thorough introduction to these two difficult technologies while showing the strengths of each and even ways to let COM and CORBA work together on the enterprise.

The major strength of this book is its parallel presentation of key concepts of distributed computing using both DCOM and CORBA. The author shows how objects work under each standard and how to program with them using C++, Java, and Visual Basic (for DCOM only). (Short, useful code excerpts show the different programming techniques with each standard.) He explains how distributed computing works in general as well as the specifics and advantages of DCOM and CORBA for today's enterprise. (The basic differences remain--Microsoft is a proprietary standard with great development tools and little cross-platform support while CORBA is a strong cross-platform option with fewer options for development tools.) Throughout this book, the author offers several assessment guides for choosing which standard to adopt for your organization based on its needs.

Actually, DCOM and CORBA have a lot in common, judging by the book's sections on transactions, component support, and server-side processing. (Later sections look at the possibility of bridging both DCOM and CORBA using proprietary tools.) It's clear that both DCOM and CORBA will be around for the foreseeable future, and this intelligent and richly presented tutorial can help any organization choose the best fit. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Distributed object basics, n-tiered architectures, DCOM and CORBA fundamentals, IDL, COM programming in C++/Visual Basic/Java, CORBA programming in C++/Java, creating and destroying objects, server-side DCOM and CORBA, assessment strategies, legacy systems, wrappers and gateways, development tools, transactions and MTS/OTS, security, desktop and Internet clients, COM/CORBA bridging, Microsoft JVM, commercial bridging solutions, and enterprise application servers.

From the Back Cover

The COM and CORBA technologies are often pitted against each other, viewed simply as competing architectures for creating distributed solutions. While the most significant difference between COM and CORBA is their support for different operating system platforms, software developers must realize that each technology has its own strengths that clearly differentiate it from the other. In COM and CORBA(r) Side by Side, Jason Pritchard objectively describes when and how developers should use both technologies--together or separately--to maximize the success of their designs.

This book helps software practitioners analyze and transcend their personal biases toward COM or CORBA so that they may objectively seek the best implementation strategy. The author helps you cut through vendor marketing hype by presenting a clear, logical formula to help you choose between the two technologies. In short, COM and CORBA(r) Side by Side is an invaluable resource for making informed, critical decisions about using one or both of these technologies in your next project.

Other highlights of this book.

• Explains why COM and CORBA currently hold dominant positions in the marketplace
• Describes an objective strategy for assessing the use of the two architectures on the server
• Examines client approaches for each technology, including design issues related to remoting and security
• Illustrates how COM and CORBA can be used together, with details on both custom and commercial bridging approaches

0201379457B04062001

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; 1 edition (July 25, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201379457
• ISBN-13: 978-0201379457
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,247,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Definite COM & CORBA Guide, August 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: COM and CORBA® Side by Side: Architectures, Strategies, and Implementations (Paperback)

Not only did "COM & CORBA Side by Side" did an excellent job of comparing COM & CORBA, it laid out a number of strategies to apply *both* technologies' strengths in designing and implementing your distributed system solutions. As Part 1 of the book is aptly titled, the book's overriding theme is embracing COM & CORBA to your advantage. Evolutionary background and current technology trends in distributed computing were covered thoroughly. Development issues on both client & server sides were given enough treatment to satisfy 2 groups of audience: developers who want to understand the implementation details & differences of COM & CORBA, and decision makers who need strategic information on the technology's main players and future directions.

However, the key to the entire book is Part 4 that covers COM & CORBA bridging strategies ranging from custom approaches (C++, JVM) to third-party commercial products (Visual Edge's ObjectBridge) to enterprise application servers that provide support for client & server components implemented with both COM & CORBA. This is probably the only COM & CORBA book currently available that provides comprehensive information on this topic. My only complaint is that only one commercial bridging product was covered in this section. I wish the author had spent more time on other third-party bridging solutions. Well, maybe that can be covered in a second edition.

The book is also logically laid out with executive summary before and after each chapter and major section. What I also like about the book's presentation is the example code are higlighted with light gray background, making it easy to distinguish between text & programming details. In all, it is refreshing to come across a book that promotes building solutions by harnessing the strengths of competing technologies and does a very good job at that with real code & examples.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book to keep for distributed computing, August 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: COM and CORBA® Side by Side: Architectures, Strategies, and Implementations (Paperback)

This is an amazing book which covers such a diverse field in distributed computing. This field is often confusing and sometimes even intimidating with many emerging technologies involving many programming languages and different platforms. Dr. Pritchard did an excellent job to bring much needed clarity in his book.

The book has a very good organization and it is very easy to follow. It starts with a brief discussion on the history and background of distributed objects with some fundamental concepts. It then presents a comprehensive and objective comparison of COM and COBRA on both server and client sides. The book is completed with the presentation of bridging techniques between COM and COBRA, enabling the two to interoperate and coexist in an enterprise system. Dr. Prichard apparently has applied both COM and COBRA in practical projects, and therefore he is able to share his past experiences in using these technologies. He offers many technical insights in the planning and assessment, design and architecture, as well as implementation details with code examples in C++, Java and VB. I enjoyed reading his strategy discussions the most. There are too many books on the market which are filled with codes and technical details. This is a rare book which puts an equal emphasis on planning and design strategies.

This book covers a variety of topics such as: MTS, MSMQ, ADO, ASP, OTS, JavaBeans and Enterprise JavaBeans, just mentioning a few. Dr. Pritchard presents these topics in a concise yet clear fashion. I am truly amazed that he could present all these topics with such a clarity, illustrating his deep understanding on the subject. It is certainly a book to keep for anyone who is working on or planning an enterprise distributed object system with either COM or COBRA.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide for system architects and project managers!, October 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: COM and CORBA® Side by Side: Architectures, Strategies, and Implementations (Paperback)

If you're in the process of architecting a new system or planning to rearchitect an existing system, this book will prove invaluable in helping you evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. Even if you're just interested in both technologies and want to dig deeper into each, this book is a sure bet!