Heterogeneity
The Internet enables users to access services and run applications over a heterogeneous collection of computers and networks. Heterogeneity (that is, variety and difference) applies to all of the following:
• networks;
• computer hardware;
• operating systems;
• programming languages;
• implementations by different developers.
Although the Internet consists of many different sorts of network, their differences are masked by the fact that all of the computers attached to them use the Internet protocols to communicate with one another. For example, a computer attached to an Ethernet has an implementation of the Internet protocols over the Ethernet, whereas a computer on a different sort of network will need an implementation
of the Internet protocols for that network, Data types such as integers may be represented in different ways on different sorts of hardware – for example, there are two alternatives for the byte ordering of integers.
These differences in representation must be dealt with if messages are to be exchanged between programs running on different hardware. Although the operating systems of all computers on the Internet need to include an implementation of the Internet protocols, they do not necessarily all provide the same application programming interface to these protocols. For example, the calls for exchanging messages in UNIX are different from the calls in Windows.
Different programming languages use different representations for characters and data structures such as arrays and records. These differences must be addressed if programs written in different languages are to be able to communicate with one another.
Programs written by different developers cannot communicate with one another unless they use common standards, for example, for network communication and the representation of primitive data items and data structures in messages. For this to happen, standards need to be agreed and adopted – as have the Internet protocols.
Middleware • The term middleware applies to a software layer that provides a programming abstraction as well as masking the heterogeneity of the underlying networks, hardware, operating systems and programming languages. The Common Object Request Broker (CORBA), Some middleware, such as Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) supports only a single programming language. Most middleware is implemented over the Internet protocols, which themselves mask the differences of the underlying networks, but all middleware deals with the differences in operating systems
and hardware In addition to solving the problems of heterogeneity, middleware provides a uniform computational model for use by the programmers of servers and distributed applications. Possible models include remote object invocation, remote event notification, remote SQL access and distributed transaction processing. For example,
CORBA provides remote object invocation, which allows an object in a program running on one computer to invoke a method of an object in a program running on another computer. Its implementation hides the fact that messages are passed over a network in order to send the invocation request and its reply.
Heterogeneity and mobile code • The term mobile code is used to refer to program code that can be transferred from one computer to another and run at the destination – Java applets are an example. Code suitable for running on one computer is not necessarily suitable for running on another because executable programs are normally specific both to the instruction set and to the host operating system.
The virtual machine approach provides a way of making code executable on a variety of host computers: the compiler for a particular language generates code for a virtual machine instead of a particular hardware order code. For example, the Java compiler produces code for a Java virtual machine, which executes it by interpretation.
The Java virtual machine needs to be implemented once for each type of computer toenable Java programs to run.
Today, the most commonly used form of mobile code is the inclusion Javascript programs in some web pages loaded into client browsers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Recommended Posts:
- Difference Between Manual And Automated System - Manual System vs Automated System
- System definition and concepts | characteristics and types of system
- Real-life Business sub-systems -Production, Marketing, Personal, Material, Finance
- Systems models types of models - Systems environment and boundaries
- Real Time And Distributed System
- Basic Principles Of Successful System
- Role and need of systems analyst
- Qualifications and responsibilities Of System Analyst
- System Analyst As Change Of Agent , Investigator and Monitoring Guy , Architect , Psychologist , Motivator , Intermediary
- System development life cycle (SDLC)
- Various phases of development - Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Maintenance
- Types of documentation and their importance
- Enforcing documentation discipline in an organization
- Data and fact gathering techniques- Interviews, Group communication, Presentations, Site visits
- Feasibility study and its importance