subject: Data and System Software Exchange through Middleware [print this page] Data and System Software Exchange through Middleware
Data exchange between computers became possible through the discovery of computer networking, a discipline concerned with communicating computer hardware devices. By creating a local area network (LAN) consisting of different computers connected by wires within a limited perimeter, documents and files in software form can be shared by two or more computers. Networks spanning larger areas are referred to as wide area network or WAN.
Today, computers can communicate without using any wires at all. Wireless LAN and WAN use signals and invisible electromagnetic radiation to allow data sharing among computers. However, data exchange using these devices is not possible for long distances, such as from one country to another. A bigger accessible network system is needed to enable computers around the world to communicate extensively. This led to the advent of the Internet, the global system of interconnected computer networks.
Data exchange through the Internet follows a simple principle. A user sends information or data through the Internet, which serves as a channel, towards a server that collects the information. In return, the server can provide any information requested by the end-user and sends it also through the Internet. The Internet does not contain the data; instead it channels data from one user to another, from a server to a user, and from one server to another.
Data exchange is now applied to mobile phones, leading to the invention of various models engaging Internet applications. The fast-developing technology in mobile phones even enabled application software exchange aside from data exchange. To do this, middleware is needed as a conduit between phones. Phone manufacturing companies like Blackberry succeeded in building middleware such as the Blackberry enterprise server v5.0.
A middleware is a part of the system that enables interaction between servers or among multiple servers and applications. The Internet is the best example of a middleware system, although it is a multifunctional system. Another example of middleware is a server like the Blackberry enterprise sever, which allows system software exchange between mobile phones through the Internet.
The Blackberry enterprise sever, as an example of a middleware, connects departmental database systems to form a larger interconnected system. This virtual plumbing technology allows shared system functionalities for multiple databases, even if they are modeled after different patterns. It creates a limited access for restricted networks or for a wide platform like the Internet to sophisticate its functions.
