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Editor's Viewpoint
That is what this issue is about - distributed object systems. Distributing cooperating objects across client and server systems can be achieved in many ways, some more advantageous than others. IBM is one of the few companies in the world that is large enough and diverse enough to orchestrate a broad solution to client-server OO software systems. That is one of the primary goals of the VisualAge family of products, though not the only goal. So what do we want from IBM? We want an open framework populated with lots of useful componentry that makes it easy for us to build our particular industry solutions with much less effort than was required in the past. The "open" part means that de facto standards in the industry are enabled. The framework part means that the underpinnings are there, waiting for us to "fill in the blanks". VisualAge is on the road to meet our requirements here, as evidenced by VisualAge's support of Windows95 and standards such as ODBC as well as IBM's nurturing of third party participation through the Object Connection program. Within this environment, we now have available Distributed Smalltalk, the Web Connection feature, database connectivity, CORBA ORB enablement via IBM's SOM and DSOM. We also have third party products such as ORBIX, a variety of communications protocols, languages, and platforms to pick from, to mention just a few of the paths to our client-server software systems. So what do we need to do? We need to find our niches within the framework. We need to keep the pressure on IBM to maintain a symbiotic environment where we can all thrive, unlike the predatory practices of some companies in the industry. That is key to all our successes - including IBM's. This issue focuses on the state of OO client-server computing. Most battles are won piecemeal. I hope this issue moves us all a little closer to a software industry client-server victory. Mark Lorenz Editor in Chief
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It
all comes back to client-server. Object technology has many promises, including
productivity through component reuse, but they must live within the realities of
computing across client and server systems. There are few systems today that
have the luxury of living in the simple world of standalone computing. Even
seemingly simple products like personal finance or calendar utilities must work
effectively with related products via file standards and over the Internet. They
must also be accessible remotely and/or over a LAN to be competitive today. In a
system made up of objects, those objects must be able to exist across the LAN
and the Internet and still work together.