From owner-freebsd-hackers Mon Apr 10 03:02:53 1995 Return-Path: hackers-owner Received: (from majordom@localhost) by freefall.cdrom.com (8.6.10/8.6.6) id DAA00497 for hackers-outgoing; Mon, 10 Apr 1995 03:02:53 -0700 Received: from mail.barrnet.net (mail.BARRNET.NET [131.119.246.7]) by freefall.cdrom.com (8.6.10/8.6.6) with ESMTP id DAA00479 for ; Mon, 10 Apr 1995 03:02:49 -0700 Received: from star-gate.com (hasty.vip.best.com [204.156.141.143]) by mail.barrnet.net (8.6.10/MAIL-RELAY-LEN) with ESMTP id CAA16932 for ; Mon, 10 Apr 1995 02:42:26 -0700 Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by star-gate.com (8.6.11/8.6.9) with SMTP id BAA00230 for ; Mon, 10 Apr 1995 01:37:36 GMT Message-Id: <199504100137.BAA00230@star-gate.com> X-Authentication-Warning: star-gate.com: Host localhost didn't use HELO protocol X-Mailer: exmh version 1.6alpha 2/16/95 To: hackers@FreeBSD.org Subject: CORBA for FreeBSD :) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Date: Mon, 10 Apr 1995 01:37:33 +0000 From: Amancio Hasty Sender: hackers-owner@FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk Hi, I thought that some of you may be interested on the enclosed messages. Enjoy, Amancio ------- Forwarded Message Received: from iona.ie (overload.iona.ie [192.122.221.3]) by shell1.best.com (8.6.11/8.6.5) with ESMTP id BAA10517 for ; Mon, 10 Apr 1995 01:48:30 -0700 Received: (from mgallery@localhost) by iona.ie (8.6.11/jmason) id JAA28417; Mon, 10 Apr 1995 09:47:51 +0100 From: Margaret Gallery Message-Id: <199504100847.JAA28417@iona.ie> Subject: Re: Support for FreeBSD?? To: hasty@star-gate.com (Amancio Hasty) Date: Mon, 10 Apr 1995 09:47:50 +0100 (BST) Cc: mgallery@overload.iona.ie (Margaret Gallery) In-Reply-To: <199504071130.LAA04090@star-gate.com> from "Amancio Hasty" at Apr 7, 95 11:30:30 am X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL22] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Length: 11700 Amancio We have been intending for some time to port Orbix to free-BSD. The issue is purely a resourcing one. As you say the port will not be difficult. Orbix is highly portable. We will get back to you on this issue as soon as we have planned a port I enclose our product description for your information. regards Margaret =================================cut================================== Margaret Gallery ------| email: mgallery@iona.ie | tel: +353-1-6686522 Iona Technologies ------|------------------------| fax: +353-1-6686573 8-34 Percy Place, Dublin 4, Ireland. |-------------------------------- =================================cut================================== Product Description - March 10, 1995 - --------------------------------------- IONA's Orbix - Object Request Broker ==================================== Orbix is a full and complete implementation of the Object Management Group's (OMG's) Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA). With Orbix, programmers can develop distributed applications using object-oriented client-server technology, and use object technology to compose new applications from existing components and subsystems. The first version of Orbix was released in June 1993 and since then it has become the leading CORBA compliant Object Request Broker. It is used by leading software providers across the banking, telecommunications, engineering and government sectors in addition to the general software market. Orbix is currently being used in Motorola's IRIDIUM project. IONA is partially owned by Sun Microsystems, Inc. Orbix provides a C++ language binding for CORBA and is supported on SunSoft SunOS, Solaris 2.x and Solaris x86, Silicon Graphic's IRIX, HP/UX, AIX, OSF/1, Ultrix, UnixWare and Windows NT3.5. Orbix for Windows 3.1 is in Beta testing. Orbix interworks across Windows and Unix. Note: If you are unfamiliar with CORBA we suggest you examine our architecture document. This document is available from our information servers, where you will also find the full CORBA architecture document. Features: - --------- Orbix provides all the functionality presented in the OMG CORBA specification: - - Interface Definition Language (IDL) compiler: Translates IDL specifications into code to marshal and dispatch object requests. The IDL compiler generates all the necessary code to enable transparent client interactions with potentially remote objects. - - Dynamic Invocation Interface (DII): Alternatively, requests can be composed and dynamically type checked without prior knowledge of operation signatures. - - Full support for type 'any' and for TypeCodes: Allows values to be self-describing, containing run-time type information. - - Basic Object Adaptor, and all associated activation policies: Provides the interface to Orbix for servers, and controls how objects are mapped to system processes. - - Interface Repository, including update facility: Allows information about available interfaces to be obtained at runtime. Orbix also supports numerous beneficial extensions to CORBA: - - Implementation Repository and Administration tools: This Repository is used to locate the executable files for a server when a request arrives for one of its objects. An incoming request will cause the associated image to be run if there is currently no active server. Not all objects in the system need to be recorded in the implementation repository: only those whose invocation should, if necessary, force an image activation. The repository also has an IDL interface which can be runtime invoked. - - A stream based interface to the DII: The CORBA DII is quite complex to use: Orbix provides an additional, stream based, interface which makes writing DII clients considerably simpler. - - Programmer control over 'proxies'/'surrogates': Proxies are local representatives for remote objects. In performance - -sensitive applications, server programmers can override the standard proxy code (using inheritance) and implement strategies to cache state and accept call-backs from server objects. - - Collocation of client and server code: The IDL language binding implemented in Orbix is highly symmetric between clients and servers. As a result, client and server code can be linked together in the same address space, without requiring recompilation. The resultant code is highly efficient (by-passing all marshalling stubs). Collocation is beneficial for debugging and development prior to distributed working, and also for programming non-distributed applications in the large by using IDL. - - Process level filters: Programmers can develop their own filter code for incoming and outgoing messages for both clients and servers. This facilitates integration of thread packages, monitoring and debugging, auditing and authentication/authorisation/encryption support. - - Object level filters: Further, programmers can develop their own filter code for invocations and responses on individual objects. This is frequently useful to enable a group of associated objects to collectively respond to a request: the membership of the group can be dynamically changed. For example, a `move' operation on a GUI object may, transparently to that object, propagate to other attached objects. - - Location Service: A simple, but flexible and scaleable, consultation service is provided to assist the binding of client object references to remote servers, when the name of the host(s) providing the service is unknown. - - Loaders and Object fault handling: For servers with a large number of objects, it might be impractical to hold all of the objects in memory. When an invocation on an object arrives at its server, application specific 'loader' code can be used to load the object from a file or other storage, and resume the invocation transparently to the client. Such "object fault" handling is reminiscent of "page fault" handling in a virtual memory system. Performance: - ------------ Orbix was built to be a lightweight product. A null remote invocation takes 0.3 milliseconds. This is the only overhead that a programmer has on a full round-trip invocation to a remote object. This shows that Orbix adds very little overhead; most of the cost comes from the underlying communications. Availability: - ------------- The Orbix release 1.3 availability and release schedule is as follows: OS Compiler Release dates for 1995 ---------------------------------------------------------------- SunOS 4.1 SPARCompiler 3.0.2 NOW SunOS 4.1 SPARCompiler 4.0 NOW SunOS 4.1 GNU 2.5.8 NOW Solaris 2.x SPARCompiler 3.0.2 NOW Solaris 2.x SPARCompiler 4.0 NOW Solaris 2.x GNU 2.5.7 NOW Solaris 2.x Centerline 2.0x NOW Solaris x86 ProCompiler3.0.1 NOW IRIX 5.x Native NOW HP-UX 9.x HP C++ A. 3.20 NOW Microsoft Windows NT3.5 Visual C++ 2.0 NOW OSF/1 3.0 DEC C++ NOW IBM AIX 3.2.5 C Set++ NOW Ultrix 4.3 DEC C++ NOW UnixWare 2.0 Native NOW Sinix Native C++ NOW Microsoft Windows 3.1 Visual C++ Beta VxWorks Beta Releases of Orbix OS/2, Macintosh, OpenVMS and SCO are imminent. Contact IONA for more information. Ordering Information: - --------------------- Full pricing and ordering details are also available upon request. Major credit cards are accepted for all payments. For further information, please contact sales at the co-ordinates below. Discounts are available for UNIX versions for volumes of 3 and upwards: please contact IONA for details. In addition, there is a 50% educational discount and a 25% research discount. A 60 day evaluation copy of Orbix is now available free on any currently supported platform. To avail of this offer send us your fax number and we will supply you with an Evaluation License Order form. Alternatively, the Evaluation Order Form is available in PostScript from our information servers [keyword: Evalorder]. Company Overview and Partners: - ------------------------------ IONA Technologies Ltd. was formed in March 1991 as a result of experience in distributed systems and object technology gained by researchers at the Department of Computer Science, Trinity College Dublin. The University work was stimulated by several ESPRIT projects, part funded by the European Commission, during the period 1985-1991, including COMANDOS, HARNESS, ISA, and Ithaca. SunSoft Inc. [a subsidiary of Sun Microsystems Inc.] and IONA have signed an agreement to align their implementations of the Object Management Group's (OMG's) CORBA standard. To cement the partnership IONA has sold a minority equity stake in the company to SunSoft. ISIS [a subsidiary of Stratus Computers Inc.] and IONA have signed an agreement to integrate their products. Orbix+ISIS will allow programmers to easily develop fault-tolerant distributed systems. Object Design Inc and IONA have announced plans to integrate Orbix with ObjectStore, the leading object database. The collaboration represents the first time an object database has been integrated with a CORBA-conformant ORB. Motorola Inc. has chosen Orbix as the software with which it will build and control the ground station segment for the IRIDIUM Global Cellular Network program. The IRIDIUM system is one of the most ambitious telecommunications projects ever undertaken, representing an investment of $3.4 billion. When it goes on-line in 1998, the IRIDIUM system will provide the first wireless communications network that spans the world. Further Information: - -------------------- More information can be obtained from IONA by several means: Newsletter: subscribe to IonaSphere, our monthly electronic newsletter by mailing: ionasphere-request@iona.ie Mail Server: send e-mail to server@iona.ie with the word 'index' in the body of the mail. World Wide Web: connect to http://www.iona.ie/ Anonymous FTP: connect to ftp.iona.ie and look in the pub/Orbix directory Telephone: Call 1-800-orbix4u in the USA, +353-1-6686522 elsewhere. Air Mail: contact IONA and give your name and address, an info. pack will be mailed to you. Training and Consultancy: IONA offers a full range of modular training courses on Orbix and on CORBA. Information on these courses and our consultancy is available on our Web site or by sending an email to training@iona.ie. Amancio Hasty writes: > > > I am a developer for FreeBSD and I am wondering if your product has been > ported to FreeBSD... > > I noticed that Oribix has been ported to a couple of x86 Unix based > platforms so I don't think that technically it will be a challenge > to port Orbix to FreeBSD. Personally, I have ported hundreds of > publicly available packages to FreeBSD . For instance, X, interviews, > tcl/tk, netaudio, etc... > > Regards, > Amancio > > Amancio Hasty, Software Consultant > e-mail: hasty@star-gate.com > Tel: 415-495-3046 > - -- Margaret Gallery ------| email: mgallery@iona.ie | tel: +353-1-6686522 Iona Technologies ------|------------------------| fax: +353-1-6686573 8-34 Percy Place, Dublin 4, Ireland. |-------------------------------- ------- End of Forwarded Message