CORBA-type Middleware: Orbix 

The Java RFC Class Library offers a CORBA implementation of the middleware using IONA Technologies’ Orbix 2.3c and OrbixWeb 3.0.

The following diagram shows the different components used by the Java RFC Class Library when using the Orbix middleware. The arrows show the flow of communication from your application all the way to the R/3 Application server and back.

Notes on the above illustration:

Java RFC uses Orbix and OrbixWeb to facilitate cross network communications between Orbix client and Orbix server machines, and for hiding marshaling and networking details from your application (marshaling and unmarshaling are the processes of packaging and interpreting network messages).

The necessary Orbix and OrbixWeb runtime files are bundled with Java RFC.

As you can see from the above illustration, both the Orbix and the Java RFC products are composed of a client and a server portions, which can be installed on separate computers.

This division between the client and server portions of the Orbix middleware implementation allows you to distribute the RFC application across the network.

This division allows multiple applications to share a single RFC server. In this scenario, the Orbix server portion is installed on one computer, and the client portion can be installed on multiple clients.

This division also allows the use of Java applets that make RFC calls to R/3. In this scenario, the Java applet resides on the Web server computer. When a Web Browser (on the client computer) calls an applet, the Web server ships the applet to the client computer. The applet runs on the Web client computer. The Orbix software takes care of the communication over the network between the Web client and the Web Server when the applet makes RFC calls.

Note on the Use of the Client and Server Terms

Note that there may be a confusion with the use of the client and server terminology when using the Orbix middleware with the Java RFC Class Library. The terms client and server are used in two contexts:

In this context we refer to these terms as the "Orbix client" or "Orbix server".

In this context we refer to these terms as the "RFC server" or "RFC client".

Note that we use the full terms ("RFC client", for example, instead of "client") only when confusion may arise and only when it does not make the discussion cumbersome.

See Also

SAP JNI Middleware, Middleware used by Java RFC