NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #19/NN_1992_19.iso/spool/comp/object/3335

Internet Message Format | 1992-08-27 | 9.0 KB

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From: [e-mail] (Jim Truitt)
Newsgroups: comp.object
Subject: Re: RFI: Object Management Group
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Date: 27 Aug 92 18:03:11 GMT
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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.
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Subject:  OMG server help file

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Subject: OMG File: /archives/help


This is the OMG server help file, last updated on 5/19/92.

The OMG server is a program that uses the Internet mail system to send
out files based on user requests. Being a machine, it can only
interpret a small number of commands. These commands must be typed at
the start of a line within the letter you send to the server. If you have
difficulties, send mail to [e-mail]. This address reaches
the person responsible for maintaining the server.

The following commands are available: help, index, get, send, address,
        size.

help: Sends you a copy of this message.

index: Sends you a list of files that are currently available on the server.

get <file>: Sends you a message containing <file>. To get a file
        within a subdirectory, type the directory name, followed by a
        slash "/", and then the file name. For example, to get the
        file "doclist.txt" in the "docs" directory, you would type
        "get docs/doclist.txt".

send <info>: Logs the rest of the line in a file on the server.  Use this
        command to leave phone numbers, e-mail addresses, or whatever.

address <e-mail address>: Tells the server to mail messages to this address,
        rather than the address in the mail header.  If this is not the
        first command in the message you send, previous commands will use
        the original address.

list <directory> [match]: Sends you a message containing the contents
        of <directory>.  Optionally, you may include a [match] after
        the directory name, in order to have the server return only
        those files that match the match string. The wildcards * and ?
        are used: ? stands for any one character, * for any set of
        characters. (For example, list orb i* would send back all the
        files from the orb directory that began with the letter 'i'.)
        You do not need to include a [match]; the server defaults to
        listing all files in the given directory.

        Examples: list orb
                  list mail
                  list docs

        See the "index" file for what directories are available.

size <segment size>: Sets the maximum file size to send; larger files
        will be split and sent in multiple messages. If <segment size>
        is less than 1000, the server will assume the number is in
        kilobytes. Otherwise, <segment size> is assumed to be in
        bytes. A few hundred bytes of header information will be added
        to the message by mailers, so what you receive may be slightly
        larger than the limit you specified.
        The command "size 0" indicates to the server that there is no
        message size limit. This is the default setting.

Each of these commands should be at the beginning of a line, by itself.
You can place more than one command in a mail message, and the server will
process them all.  If you have other questions, or if you are having trouble
accessing the server, send mail to [e-mail].

--End of help file--

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