Introduction

The aim of this essay is to establish the significance of Java in distributed computing. The term distributed computing loosely defines the decomposition of an application into individual objects that can be distributed over a network of computers, yet still work together to achieve a common goal.
There are an array of reasons for adopting this approach, key amongst them are the benefits offered by parallel computing -the use of a greater number of smaller cheaper computers instead a fewer powerful expensive computers, improved reliability through reduced dependence on individual computers.
Due to the object-oriented nature of distributed computing systems, object-oriented programming languages are the generally seen as offering the ideal development environment for distributed solutions.

 

The Java Language

The Java language's basic capabilities make it particularly suited to the distributed computing sector, key amongst these are its object-oriented environment, support for abstract interfaces and its platform independence [6].
However, as the first language designed from the bottom up with networking in mind, Java possesses a development environment that encompasses the various levels of distributed computing development. This is derived through support for secure applications, multiple threads of control, integration with other Internet based protocols and services and schemes for remote communication between objects. It is these schemes that we will focus on I our essay as these give us a clear understanding of the applicability of the Java language to different distributed environments. The schemes that we will concentrate on are the CORBA - Java IDL, RMI and RMI - IIOP.

 

Java Schemes for Distributed Computing

Key to Java's role as a distributed application development environment is its array of object based distribution schemes. The primary schemes are CORBA - Java IDL, RMI and RMI-IIOP. Thus it is these schemes that we will look at to help us gain an understanding of the Java language's significance in distributed computing.

 

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