IT Architectures and Middleware: Strategies for Building Large, Integrated Systems, Second Edition

6. Using Middleware to Build Distributed Applications

The point of middleware is to make life easier for the distributed systems implementer, but how? In this chapter we try to answer this question. The chapter has three parts. In the first, we look at distributed processing from the point of view of the business. This part is trying to answer the question, what is middleware for? The second part discusses tiers. The path from end user to database typically involves several, distinct logical layers, each with a different function. These are tiers. Note that they are logical tiers, which may be implemented in varying numbers of physical systems; one tier does not necessarily mean one physical system. The question is, what tiers should there be? ...