Middleware, which is quickly becoming synonymous with enterprise applications integration (EAI), is software that is invisible to the user. It takes two or more different applications and makes them work seamlessly together. This is accomplished by placing middleware between layers of software to make the layers below and on the sides work with each other . On that broad definition, middleware could be almost any software in a layered software stack. Further, middleware is a continually evolving term. Since much of the software business is driven through the perceptions of the ?hottest? current technologies, many companies are giving their software the name ?middleware? because it is popular.
Middleware, or EAI, products enable information to be shared in a seamless real-time fashion across multiple functional departments, geographies and applications. Benefits include better customer service, accurate planning and forecasting, and reduced manual re-entry and associated data inaccuracies.
Middleware is essential to migrating mainframe applications to client/server applications, or to Java or internet-protocol based applications, and to providing for communication across heterogeneous platforms. This technology began to evolve during the 1990s to provide for interoperability in support of the move to client/server architectures. [1] There are two primary applications for middleware using any of the above middleware initiatives: Computer Telephony and Software Interfaces such as via Java based middleware applications. In this discussion of middleware, we will explore both uses.
????? ???????????Today, industries need to transform their client/server infrastructures into services-oriented setups to stay competitive. Focus of IT has shifted from a technology-centric approach to a flexibility-driven approach measured in time-to-delivery and ability to change.
Though it is universally accepted that service-oriented architectures implementations lead to quantifiable benefits, yet in practice, their adoption has been sluggish.
The strategy to remedy this situation is via middleware.
In the computer industry, middleware is a general term for any programming that serves to "glue together" or mediate between two separate and often already existing programs.
In essence, Middleware is a computer software that interconnects software components or applications. This software consists of a set of enabling services that allow multiple processes running on one or more machines to interact across a network. Middleware is especially integral to modern information technology based on XML, Web services, and service-oriented architecture.
A common application of middleware is to allow programs written for access to a particular database to access other databases. Typically, middleware programs provide messaging services so that different applications can communicate.
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