Users Gain COM/CORBA Interoperability

OMG Adopts Interface Between Microsoft's OLE and OMG's CORBA

April 16, 1996 -- Framingham, MA -- Object Management Group (OMG) is
pleased to announce the adoption of an interface between Microsoft's
Component Object Model (COM) and OMG's Common Object Request Broker
Architecture (CORBA).

"Leading edge technology end users are developing distributed
component-based systems based on heterogeneous platforms -- usually mixing
windows-based clients with UNIX or mainframe-based servers," explains
Chris Stone, President and CEO of the Object Management Group. "OMG's
progress in bridging interoperability with Microsoft's object model brings
a practical solution to this technical challenge much closer."

The purpose of the COM-CORBA interworking is to specify bi-directional
communication between CORBA objects and COM objects. The goal is that
objects from one object model would be able to be viewed as if they
existed in another, and key object functionality would be visible to the
clients even if using another system.

"It is clearly in the interests of our customers and the industry as a
whole to have a single approach to interoperability between COM and
products based on the CORBA design," comments Mark Ryland, Senior Program
Manager for OLE/COM, Microsoft Corporation. "This is an important step
toward providing rich interoperability between the two object models.
Microsoft plans to continue working with the Object Management Group to
achieve the next major milestone: interoperability between
CORBA-conformant products and Distributed COM."

OMG'S OBJECT MANAGEMENT ARCHITECTURE

The OMA is the center of all activity undertaken by the OMG and is
supported by a comprehensive reference model with components including
CORBA, CORBAservices and CORBAfacilities. CORBA is OMG's specification for
portable, interoperable Object Request Brokers (ORBs) and is the standard
messaging technology for heterogeneous distributed object computing. COM
is Microsoft's architecture and technology for creating a robust,
evolvable component mass market for software components. OLE is
Microsoft's technology for component- based solutions in the Windows and
Macintosh marketplaces.

The OMG interworking specification, including parts A & B, is expected to
provide a complete mapping between Microsoft's Component Object Model and
the OMA, as well as mechanisms and strategies for achieving a high degree
of practical interoperability. Part A details a comprehensive, flexible
approach supporting the interaction of today's OLE/COM with CORBA. Part B
responses, due later this year, will add support for network-based
interaction between Distributed COM (DCOM) systems and CORBA systems. OMG
Contributing Members who collaborated to submit the adopted specification
include Digital, Expersoft, FUJITSU, Hewlett-Packard, Genesis Development,
IBM, IONA Technologies, Seimens Nixdorf, SunSoft, Sybase and Visual Edge
Software.

"The power of COM is that it pervades the desktop, the power of CORBA is
that it pervades the network. This technology adoption by the OMG is
delivering users exactly what they need. A unified, consolidated approach,
based on proven and commercially available products, to getting the best
from both worlds," says Annrai O'Toole, Chief Technical Officer at IONA
Technologies.

"Digital is delighted to have been a significant contributor to the
COM/CORBA Interworking Part A Specification," comments Jim Rye, Senior
Engineering Manager, Digital Equipment Corporation. "This specification is
a key step in Digital's overall strategy of integrating desktops with the
enterprise. We applaud OMG for driving the industry in this critical
market requirement."

"For EDS' Capital Business Unit, the adoption of a standard mapping between
CORBA and OLE/COM has opened the door to large scale integration in
heterogeneous environments," explains Waqar Sadiq, a Senior Systems
Engineer with EDS. "We are now able to leverage the strengths of both
technologies: using CORBA-conformant tools such as IONA's Orbix, to build
enterprise-wide reusable business services; together with the productive,
component based benefits of OLE automation on the desktop -- resulting in
shorter development cycles."

OMG and its members believe wide scale adoption of the OMA and its
components is providing information systems organizations with the means
to design, build and maintain integrated software systems distributed
throughout the enterprise. Future releases of the specification will
include the Microsoft OLE and Distributed OLE to CORBA gateway. Copies of
the final specification are available via anonymous ftp: ftp.omg.org,
document number orb/96-01-05 or by calling the OMG main number at
+1-508-820 4300 and requesting a copy of the document number referenced
above.
 
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