Corba Middleware for a Palm Operating System

Abstract

Typically, Computer Networks are heterogeneous and therefore require special middleware applications in order to enable communication across their diverse platforms. Middleware applications make the task of writing software applications for heterogeneous systems easier, by applying platform-independent models and abstractions, and by hiding as much low-level complexity as possible without unduly sacrificing performance. The Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) standard provides a set of rules for writing such platform independent middleware. CORBA applications require lots of functionality in order to unite diverse platforms within a heterogeneous system, and are therefore bulky and computation intensive. Generally, they are used on machines with considerable memory and processing resources, that can cope with them. The challenge posed by this project was to write a condensed and extensible piece of CORBA middleware, that could operate effectively on a resource restricted handheld device, thus providing a portable data access device, that can conveniently fit into a shirt pocket.