Open Source Middleware-making Waves Of Late

It was in the nineties that people began worrying about computer systems becoming obsolete with new technologies not working with them

. The concept of middleware gained popularity to allow the new applications to be used with old systems. However the term middleware has been in use since 1968. It is a fact that technology giants keep on developing latest software to replace older, but this means getting rid of the hardware as well. These big corporations have taken upon themselves to lessen the burden by making available open source middleware. Some of the prominent vendors of open source middleware are IBM, Oracle and Red Hat. You would be surprised to know that for this very purpose many companies came into existence.

For a layman, middleware refers to programs that allow communication of sorts between two applications. This gluing of applications, using middleware is called Enterprise Application Integration (EAI). The most common use of middle ware is to access data base through a program that was intended to access another database. Wiki describes it as a piece of software that connects two or more software applications so that they can exchange data. There can be various types of middleware depending upon the requirements, and some of these are described below.

Middleware for Messaging

This is a type of software that allows transformation and routing of messages

Database Middleware

To interact with different databases, we use middleware that acts as an intermediary allowing access.

Transaction Middleware

Transaction processing monitors and web application servers make use of this type of middleware

We know that any operating system is just software that makes possible the use of hardware. In much the same way, middleware is software that makes a distributed system programmable. If you do not have an OS, it is a very tedious process to write programs to make use of the hardware. Similarly, without using middleware, it is well nigh impossible to program a distributed system.

Because of growth of network based technologies, open source middleware is increasingly becoming a necessity. Software engineers have long been dreaming of middleware to allow working across platforms. A lot of progress has been made on this front, but a lot still remains to be done.

To enhance interaction between various parts of an application or between different applications, an intermediary is required and this necessity has given birth to middleware. Open source middleware is today widely available on the net and is increasingly being used by businesses, software developers, wireless networking developers and e-commerce users. Today, middleware has become vital in the functioning of a lot of computer environments such as laboratories where data mining and laboratory information system backup. In businesses, to search from various databases that are at different geographic locations, middleware provide immense help. In environments such as distributed simulations, middleware is used for high level architecture.

With so many uses of middleware, it is only natural that software engineers are trying their best to develop these intermediaries for all sorts of businesses and industries.

by: Rajkumar Jonnala

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