Bachelor of Information

Technology
Middleware Architecture
IT6505
Teacher’s Notes
Lesson 04

Viraj Brian Wijesuriya

University of Colombo School of Computing
No. 35, Reid Avenue , Colombo 7, Sri Lanka.
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 IT6505 – IT Architecture and Middleware

Integration Category (1)

• The integration type includes those middleware that have a specific way
of being integrated into its heterogeneous system environment.

• Each of these middleware has different communication protocols or

ways of operating between the other software.

• Procedure Oriented Middleware: uses a synchronous communication

(like a telephone). The characteristic of the procedure-oriented
middleware is the use of client stubs and server skeletons.

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 IT6505 – IT Architecture and Middleware

Integration Category (2)

• Object Oriented Middleware: supports distributed object requests. The OO
middleware operates with the client object first making a logical method call to
remote object.

• Message Oriented Middleware: can be subdivided into two types – Message

Passing/Queuing and Message Publish/Subscribe.

• Component Based or Reflective Middleware: A component is described as a

“program that performs a specific function and is designed in such a way to easily
operate with other components and applications”. This middleware is a
configuration of components. These components are selected either at build-time or
at run-time. Independently Replaceable, Independently Updatable.

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 IT6505 – IT Architecture and Middleware

Integration Category (3)

• Agents: considered a middleware that consists of several
components: entities (objects, threads), media (communication
between one agent and another), and laws (rules on agent’s
communication coordination).

– Media can be monitors, channels, or more complex types (e.g.

pipelines). Laws identify the interactive nature of the agents such
as its synchronization or type of naming schemes.

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 IT6505 – IT Architecture and Middleware

Question 1
• What do you understand when somebody says “We are using
reflective middleware”
– A configurable and reconfigurable middleware platform that uses
reflection as a principled mechanism to dynamically adapt middleware
behaviour to changing environmental context.
– In computer science, reflection is the ability of a computer program to
examine, introspect, and modify its own structure and behavior at
runtime.
– The middleware contains an interface that supports operations to
discover the internal operation and structure of the middleware
platform (e.g. protocols and management structures being deployed)
and to make changes at run-time.
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 IT6505 – IT Architecture and Middleware

Application Category
The application classification includes middleware that fit into specific types
of application functions.

• Data Access Middleware: This type of middleware is characterized by the

interaction of the application with local and/or remote databases (legacy,
relational and non-relational), data warehouses, or other data source
files.

• Web-based Middleware: Web-based middleware assists the user with

browsing, uses interfaces that scout ahead to find pages of interest, and
discerns user’s changes of interest from browsing history .
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 IT6505 – IT Architecture and Middleware

Functions of Middleware (1)

Middleware services provide a more functional set of application
programming interfaces to allow an application to:
• Locate transparently across the network, thus providing interaction
with another service or application

• Filter data to make them friendly usable or public via anonymization

process for privacy protection (for example)

• Be independent from network services ……

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 IT6505 – IT Architecture and Middleware

Functions of Middleware (2)

• Be reliable and always available

• Add complementary attributes like semantics

when compared to the operating system and network services.

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 IT6505 – IT Architecture and Middleware

Question 2
• How does businesses utilize middleware
– Businesses frequently use middleware applications to link information from
departmental databases, such as payroll, sales, and accounting, or databases
housed in multiple geographic locations. In the highly competitive healthcare
community, laboratories make extensive use of middleware applications for
data mining, laboratory information system (LIS) backup, and to combine
systems during hospital mergers. Middleware helps bridge the gap between
separate LISs in a newly formed healthcare network following a hospital
buyout.
– E-commerce uses middleware to assist in handling rapid and secure
transactions over many different types of computer environments. In short,
middleware has become a critical element across a broad range of industries,
thanks to its ability to bring together resources across dissimilar networks or
computing platforms.
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IT6505 – IT Architecture and Middleware

Middleware and Elements (1)

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Middleware and Elements (2)

• A and B two different physical systems

• Hard to differentiate between network infrastructure and middleware

(consider them as a whole)

• The 8 components collectively provide facilities for effective collaboration

1. Communication Link
– Physical communication link
– Local or Wide Area

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 IT6505 – IT Architecture and Middleware

Middleware and Elements (3)

2. Protocols
– Two categories of protocols
• Network – to carry data over the physical link
• Middleware – to handle dialog between A and B
– The two protocols complement each other
– Together provide reliability, performance etc.
– Different middleware protocols provide a vide variety of connection types. Eg:
• Response time
• Guarantee of delivery

3. Programmatic interface
– This specifies the way the data are presented to the middleware

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 IT6505 – IT Architecture and Middleware

Middleware and Elements (4)

4. Common format for data
– Describes how the data should be structured so that A and B both
understand it

5. Server Process Control

– This dictates how the Middleware, O/S and other S/W manage the
scheduling and execution of applications
– Crucial for performance and scalability
– Eg: resource pooling for threads, database connections and
application components

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 IT6505 – IT Architecture and Middleware

Middleware and Elements (5)

6. Naming and Directory Services
– Provides means for locating the communication elements
– The complexity of these services may vary according to the size of
the environment

7. Security
– Ensures the communication between A and B is safe enough to meet
requirements
– Include encryption, access permission, reliable identification

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 IT6505 – IT Architecture and Middleware

Middleware and Elements (6)

8. Systems management
– Concerns with configuration, operation, fault management,
performance of environment
– Simply it keeps the whole setup working correctly

• The elements 5 - 8 ensure the required degree of performance, reliability

etc.

• The system would work without elements 5 – 8 but would not be suitable
for production.

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 IT6505 – IT Architecture and Middleware

Question 3 (1)
• Which elements given in the previous (6) slides:
a) enable sending data between A and B ?

b) are sufficient to ensure communication between A and B ?

c) ensure the required degree of performance, reliability ?

d) define the way that A and B communicate with the middleware ?

e) Ensures the communication between A and B is safe enough to meet

requirements ?

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 IT6505 – IT Architecture and Middleware

Question 3 (2)
• Which elements given in the previous (6) slides:
a) 1, 2

b) 1, 2, 3, 4

c) 5, 6, 7, 8

d) 3, 4

e) 7
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 IT6505 – IT Architecture and Middleware

Lesson Summary
• Integration middleware contains middleware that have a specific way of
being integrated into its heterogeneous system environment.

• The application classification includes middleware that fit into specific

types of application functions.

• Component: Independently Updatable, Independently Replaceable.

• Elements of Middleware: Communication Link, Protocols, Programmatic

interface, Common format for data, Server process control, Naming and
directory services, Security and System management.

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