Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA)

The Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) is a standard defined by the Object Management Group (OMG) that enables software components written in multiple computer languages and running on multiple computers to work together.

CORBA is a standard for distributing objects across networks so that operations on those objects can be called remotely. CORBA is not associated with a particular programming language, and any language with a CORBA binding can be used to call and implement CORBA objects. Objects are described in a syntax called Interface Definition Language (IDL).

CORBA includes four components:
Object Request Integration node (ORB)
The Object Request Integration node (ORB) handles the communication, marshaling, and unmarshaling of parameters so that the parameter handling is transparent for a CORBA server and client applications.
CORBA server
The CORBA server creates CORBA objects and initializes them with an ORB. The server places references to the CORBA objects inside a naming service so that clients can access them.
Naming service
The naming service holds references to CORBA objects.
CORBARequest node
The CORBARequest node acts as a CORBA client.
The following diagram shows the layers of communication between IBM® Integration Bus and CORBA.
The diagram shows how IBM Integration can connect to CORBA.
The diagram illustrates the following steps.
  1. CORBA server applications create CORBA objects and put object references in a naming service so that clients can call them.
  2. At deployment time, the node contacts a naming service to get an object reference.
  3. When a message arrives, the node uses the object reference to call an operation on an object in the CORBA server.

For more details about how CORBA works with IBM Integration Bus, see CORBA nodes.