Design and performance of a dynamically configurable, messaging protocols framework for real-time CORBA

As distributed object computing (DOC) middleware standards and implementations evolve over time, they invariably must support a growing number of protocols to remain interoperable. Memory footprints of middleware implementations can become large if a concerted effort is not made to prevent this growth. Large middleware memory footprints are problematic for important classes of distributed, real-time, and embedded (DRE) applications that have stringent memory constraints. This paper makes two contributions to the design of middleware to address key challenges of developing DRE applications. First, it describes the design of dynamically configurable general inter-ORB protocols (GIOP). Second, it explains how we applied patterns and Java features to minimize and customize the memory footprint of messaging protocols used in DRE middleware.