Object-oriented programming software company ObjectSpace Inc has released version two of its Voyager object request broker into beta testing which sees the introduction of CORBA and DCOM support. Using Java, the company has developed a product that it claims enables a write once, run anything philosophy. The object model is neutral, supporting both the Object Management Group’s CORBA Common Object Request Broker architecture, and Microsoft Corp’s DCOM Distributed Component Object Model, enabling code to be written once and deployed to either environment. OpenSpace, a privately held operation established in 1992, claims it is the first company to come up with a non- intrusive answer to the code communication problem. But Dublin, Ireland-based Iona Technologies Ltd is also working on a DCOM-to- CORBA bridge (CI No 3,256) which will be released early next year. Iona thinks the ability to link the two object environments without installing client software is key, claiming other object companies can’t do the job as it will. And Iona doesn’t think that the ability to work with DCOM and CORBA is of any great significance any more, the more important element lies in CORBA and COM, a move already made by Iona. But OpenSpace’s Voyager marketing manager Chris Tarr says the bridging technology Iona has come up with will not be as effective as Voyager. He says the bridging technology exists in just one place and is static in nature, meaning translation between CORBA and DCOM still requires additional coding. The company is making the core technology of Voyager available free to download from its web site, saying that ORB offerings will move increasingly towards being embedded into other products. It has won licensing agreements from Tivoli Systems Inc, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Metrowerks Inc and Roaster Technologies Inc. ObjectSpace’s other products include the JGL set of Java Libraries and C++ Component Series.
