The Interface Definition Language
  • The following line shows what an invocation on a Java CORBA object looks like in C++: 
      char* desc = item->description();
  • Wow! It looks like C++
    • But since item is implemented in Java, how did the Java programmer tell the C++ programmer what the interface for an Item looked like?
    • Just give him the Java definition of Item?
  • CORBA solved this problem by creating a common object model
    • Objects within this model are described by the Interface Definition Language (IDL) that provides:
      • A set of scalar data types (e.g. integers, booleans, and enumerations)
      • A set of structured types (e.g. structures, unions, and exceptions)
      • A set of aggregate types (e.g. strings, arrays, and sequences)
      • Object interface definitions
      • Namespaces

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