Open Source components for building network applications
The CCM is a software specification developed by the Open Management Group (OMG) to provide a practical component model for distributed applications. OpenCCM is an Open Source implementation of the specification, written in Java, which can be used in the production of commercial applications. The software is implemented in a number of systems, with the first two forming a XML tool chain for building components. The Production Tool Chain includes front-end compilers, back-end generators and a central CORBA Interface Repository. These are complemented by a Packaging/Assembling Tool Chain, with a graphical user interface for editing component descriptors and component archives. The other subsystems of the OpenCCM implementation make up a runtime environment for the components that manages the network and their deployment. The OpenCCM Distributed Computing Infrastructure is a platform for deploying and configuring the component assemblies produced by the tool chains across the network. The Management Framework allows users to explore software components, objects and services through another graphical user interface. The Container Runtime Framework meanwhile, supports extensible containers - a way of building specialised services into middleware components. By implementing CCM-related standards in Open Source code, the project team have provided a valuable resource for research institutes or companies that wish to develop middleware and applications based on components.