NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #16/NN_1992_16.iso/spool/comp/object/2984

Text File | 1992-07-23 | 7.3 KB | 186 lines

Newsgroups: comp.object
Path: sparky!uunet!haven.umd.edu!news.umbc.edu!gmuvax2!schatt
From: [e-mail] (Sanjiev Chattopadhya)
Subject: Re: Object Management Group
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Organization: George Mason University, Fairfax Va.
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 19:12:01 GMT
Lines: 176

I have received a number of requests for information
on my posting about the OMG (>20 ).   I have decided
post the (important) replies I got.

The following replies contain Email addreses, phone numbers,
fax number etc. for the OMG.

My thanks to  the following for their replies.
  Rich Chung             [e-mail]
  Mike Sendall             [e-mail]
  Tor G Syvertsen          [e-mail]
  Ross                     [e-mail]


Sanjiev
[e-mail]

-----------------------------Response #1----------------------------
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]

My friendly information retrieval system comes up with the following:

From: [e-mail] (Richard Mark Soley)
Subject: OMG

In answer to your general question about the OMG, here's a brief overview.
Feel free to call, fax or email for more information.

    -- Richard Soley
       Vice President & Technical Director
       Object Management Group, Inc.
       and cooincidentally, MIT '82, SM '85, PhD '89 (EECS)

The Object Management Group (OMG) is an international software industry
consortium with two primary aims:

(*) promotion of the object-oriented approach to software engineering
    in general, and

(*) development of command models and a common interface for the development
    and use of large-scale distributed applications (open distributed
    processing) using object-oriented methodology.

Although the OMG is not a recognized standards group (like ISO or national
bodies such as ANSI and IEEE), OMG is developing "standards" in the form
of wholesale consensus agreements between member companies leading to
a single architecture and interface specification for application and
enterprise integration on both the small and large scales.


The OMG was founded in April 1989, and continues to have a small,
vendor-neutral core staff of seven people.  Now comprising about 200
companies, the OMG membership is composed of large and small hardware
& software vendors (IBM, Canon, DEC, Philips, Olivetti, AT&T, Sun
Microsystems, Informix, ICL, Enfin Systems, Architecture Projects
Management, Apple Computer, O2 Technology, etc.) as well as end-user
companies (Citicorp, American Airlines, Royal Bank of Canada, John
Deere, etc.)  with a common goal: the promotion of open standards for
interoperability of applications using an object oriented framework.
A key differentiation of the OMG standards approach is that such
standards are and will be based, as far as possible, on existing,
commercially available products.

In late 1990 the OMG published its Object Management Architecture
(OMA) Guide document. This document outlines a single terminology for
object-oriented languages, systems, databases and application
frameworks; an abstract framework for object-oriented systems; a set
of both technical and architectural goals; and an architecture
(reference model) for distributed applications using object-oriented
techniques.  To fill out this reference model, four areas of
standardization have been identified:

1) the Object Request Broker, or key communications element, for
   handling distribution of messages between application objects in
   a highly interoperable manner;

2) the Object Model, or single design-portability abstract model for
   communicating with OMG-conforming object-oriented systems;

3) the Object Services, which will provide the main functions for
   realising basic object functionality using the Object Request Broker -
   the logical modelling and physical storage of objects; and

4) the Common Facilities will comprise facilities which are useful in
many application domains and which will be made available through OMA
compliant class interfaces.

The OMG adoption cycle includes Requests for Information and
Proposals, requesting detailed technical and commercial availability
information from OMG members about existing products to fill
particular parts of the reference model architecture.  After passage
by Technical and Business committees to review these responses, the
OMG Board of Directors makes a final determination for technology adoption.
Adopted specifications are available on a fee-free basis to members and
non-members alike.


In late 1991 OMG adopted its first interface technology, for the Object
Request Broker portion of the reference model.  This technology, adopted
from a joint proposal (named "CORBA") of Hewlett-Packard, NCR Corp.,
HyperDesk Corp., Digital Equipment Corp., Sun Microsystems and Object
Design Inc. includes both static and dynamic interfaces to an inter-
application request handling software "bus."


Unlike other organizations, the OMG itself does not and will not
develop nor sell software of any kind.  Instead, it selects and promulgates
software interfaces; products which offer these interfaces continue to be
developed and offered by commercial companies.

In order to serve OMG membership interested in other object-oriented systems
arenas besides the distributed system problem, the Group supports Special
Interest Groups for discussion of possible standards in other areas.  These
groups at present are:

        1) Object Oriented Databases;
        2) OO Languages;
        3) End-User Requirements;
        4) Parallel Processing;
        5) Analysis & Design Methodologies;
        6) Smalltalk; and
    7) Class Libraries.

Any company, university/research institution or individual, whether
end-user or vendor, can become a member of this body.  Administrative
details are given at the end of this paper.



Object Management Group
492 Connecticut Path
Framingham, MA 01701
USA

Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
_____________________________Response # 2_____________________

From [e-mail]@otc.otca.oz.au
Sanjiev -

try sending some E-Mail to : [e-mail] (this is an auto response
address - and should result in a listing of all doc'ns currently held).

Alternatively contact Liz Jewitt @ : [e-mail] and she should
be able to help.


_____________________________Response # 3_____________________


From [e-mail]

Object Management Group (OMG) is a consortium comprising appr. 200 companies
that attempts to create a new platform standard called an Object Request
Broker (ORB). The present ORB specification (CORBA= Common Object Request
Broker Architecture) is a common proposal by DEC, HP, SunSoft, Hyperdesk,
NCR and Object Design.

CORBA is based on a Common Object Model; a generalized object model in the
sense that the communication between objects is based on requests rather
than messages to enable more flexible addressing and storage mechanisms. The
ORB can be compared to an automated telephone exchange that takes care of
address resolution and maintaining connections between objects.

OMG is a technology-endorsement group, not a standards body. OMG distribute
a specification based on commercially available technology, and set down
rules for object technology that will make software development easier,
reusable, modular and high-quality.

You'll find a brief introduction in BYTE March 92, p 125.

TOR G