Object-Orientation FAQ

From: soley@emerald.omg.ORG (Richard Mark Soley)
Subject: OMG

In answer to your general question about the OMG, here's a brief overview.
Feel free to call, fax or email for more information.

        -- Richard Soley
           Vice President & Technical Director
           Object Management Group, Inc.
           and coincidentally, MIT '82, SM '85, PhD '89 (EECS)

The Object Management Group (OMG) is an international software industry
consortium with two primary aims:

(*) promotion of the object-oriented approach to software engineering
    in general, and

(*) development of command models and a common interface for the development
    and use of large-scale distributed applications (open distributed
    processing) using object-oriented methodology.

In late 1990 the OMG published its Object Management Architecture
(OMA) Guide document. This document outlines a single terminology for
object-oriented languages, systems, databases and application
frameworks; an abstract framework for object-oriented systems; a set
of both technical and architectural goals; and an architecture
(reference model) for distributed applications using object-oriented
techniques.  To fill out this reference model, four areas of
standardization have been identified:

1) the Object Request Broker, or key communications element, for
   handling distribution of messages between application objects in
   a highly interoperable manner;

2) the Object Model, or single design-portability abstract model for
   communicating with OMG-conforming object-oriented systems;

3) the Object Services, which will provide the main functions for
   realising basic object functionality using the Object Request Broker -
   the logical modeling and physical storage of objects; and

4) the Common Facilities will comprise facilities which are useful in
many application domains and which will be made available through OMA
compliant class interfaces.

The OMG adoption cycle includes Requests for Information and
Proposals, requesting detailed technical and commercial availability
information from OMG members about existing products to fill
particular parts of the reference model architecture.  After passage
by Technical and Business committees to review these responses, the
OMG Board of Directors makes a final determination for technology adoption.
Adopted specifications are available on a fee-free basis to members and
non-members alike.

In late 1991 OMG adopted its first interface technology, for the Object
Request Broker portion of the reference model.  This technology, adopted
from a joint proposal (named "CORBA") of Hewlett-Packard, NCR Corp.,
HyperDesk Corp., Digital Equipment Corp., Sun Microsystems and Object
Design Inc. includes both static and dynamic interfaces to an inter-
application request handling software "bus."

Unlike other organizations, the OMG itself does not and will not
develop nor sell software of any kind.  Instead, it selects and promulgates
software interfaces; products which offer these interfaces continue to be
developed and offered by commercial companies.

In order to serve OMG membership interested in other object-oriented systems
arenas besides the distributed system problem, the Group supports Special
Interest Groups for discussion of possible standards in other areas.  These
groups at present are:

        1) Object Oriented Databases;
        2) OO Languages;
        3) End-User Requirements;
        4) Parallel Processing;
        5) Analysis & Design Methodologies;
        6) Smalltalk; and
        7) Class Libraries.

Any company, university/research institution or individual, whether
end-user or vendor, can become a member of this body.  Administrative
details are given at the end of this paper.