Middleware: the layer in between

Abstract

Middleware is a widely used term in various areas of distributed systems. This paper focuses specifi cally on component-based middleware, i.e., the software layer that offers, to application developers, a platform, a programming model and a standard set of services (e.g., persistency, transactions, security, refl ection, etc.) capable of hiding the interaction details between components of a distributed system. This middle tier makes language and distribution heterogeneity transparent to developers and decreases the diffi culty of managing the creation, distribution, deployment and adaptation of software components.