Conclusion

During the course of this essay we have briefly looked at the Java language and had an in depth look at the distribution schemes that it possesses. From this we can clearly see the advantages that the Java language offers within the distributed computing sector:

• Platform independence;
• Object-oriented environment;
• Support for multiple programming languages that support IDL mapping (CORBA - Java IDL and RMI-IIOP);
• Support for the standard CORBA IIOP protocol for object communication (CORBA - Java IDL and RMI-IIOP);

It should be noted that the Java language does have some flaws. Areas of particular concern are its lack of security for the CORBA - Java IDL scheme and Java RMI's Java-to-Java only interaction. However these concerns have been rectified to a large extent in the RMI-IIOP scheme which incorporates the Secure Socket Layer security of RMI and CORBA - Java IDL's interaction with multiple programming languages that support IDL mapping greater support for CORBA services further enhances this schemes functionality.

Overall, Java's basic capabilities coupled with the distribution schemes makes Java a suitable, and popular, choice for developing distributed computing solutions and underlines its significance in this sector. Furthermore the advent of 3rd generation mobile technology will further increase the need for lightweight client side applications with remote interaction to numerous robust server side applications. With the release of the J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition) wireless toolkit, by Sun [7], the Java language looks set to establish itself as the most prominent development environment for this sector and with it further enhance its significance in the distributed computing sector.

 

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