Corba with Java   «Prev  Next»
Lesson 3 Corba Programming Requirements
Objective Learn what you need to take this course.

Corba Programming Requirements

Platform support

You can take this course on Windows, Macintosh, or UNIX platforms. However, to complete the exercises in this course, you must have access to a computer running Windows or UNIX.

JDK Software

You will be writing and compiling Java code throughout this course. We recommend you use the JDK version 6 or later and an ordinary text editor such as Eclipse.

JacORB

In addition to a Java compiler, you will need an Object Request Broker (ORB) to run the code you write. The ORB will coordinate communication between your servers and clients. A number of free ORBs are available. We recommend JacORB for the following reasons:
  1. It does not cost anything.
  2. It’s supported by the author (some freeware isn’t).
  3. It’s compliant with the latest version of CORBA.
  4. Because it’s written in Java, it will work on many platforms, and it will work well with the Java code you are writing.

The heart of JacORB is the ORB itself, and associated servers and services such as the Naming Service. It also comes with a number of utilities to help you manage and configure your CORBA systems. Some of these utilities use the Java Foundation Classes, formerly known as Swing.
We will not use these utilities in this course, but if you want to experiment with them, you will need to add Swing to your JDK 1.1 installation or move on to JDK 1.2.
If you have another ORB installed, don’t worry: The two ORBs can coexist just fine. If you wish, you can do the course exercises with your preferred ORB, but you will have to translate the instructions we give you into commands that are right for your ORB.

After downloading JacORB, install and configure it following our Windows or instructions.
The concepts and code you learn in this course will apply equally well to any ORB you choose to use in your future endeavors. You can find a good list of other ORBs on the Resources page.
In the next lesson, the course resources will be discussed.