A common architecture for integrating distributed applications

Efforts toward developing standardized solutions for distributed application integration in heterogeneous, multivendor, physically disparate local- and wide-area systems are described. Two requirements on specifications for these standards are that they be based on object technology and embodied in existing, commercially available products. Standards are then selected in a competitive, consensus-based fashion. The Object Request Broker standard, which begins to build this structure to support interoperability, is presented