A framework for architecting and high-level programming support of CORBA applications

In this paper, we present a framework, called OrbGOP, to support the architecting and high-level programming of CORBA-based distributed applications. OrbGOP makes two contributions to the development of CORBA applications: (1) it provides higher-level abstractions for programming CORBA applications and frees the programmer from the underlying irrelevant details; (2) it facilitates the architecture description and dynamic reconfiguration of CORBA applications. OrbGOP is based on the graph-oriented programming (GOP) model, where the configuration of a distributed program is described as a logical graph separated from the programming of the constituent components of the program. Component interactions and dynamic reconfiguration are implemented by executing a set of operations that are defined over the graph. OrbGOP extends the application of GOP to the CORBA environment and provides more powerful support for distributed software architecture. Through a sample example, we show that OrbGOP provides a reflective, architectural approach to high-level programming support for the development of CORBA-based distributed applications. The system architecture, the design of runtime support and functional library support, as well as the preliminary evaluation of a working prototype of OrbGOP are also presented.