CORBA/RMI vs XML/RDF/XMI

[Joe Lapp]

At 03:10 PM 1/18/00 -0500, David Megginson wrote:
>Miles Sabin <msabin at cromwellmedia.co.uk> writes:
>
> > I'm having trouble seeing why XML over HTTP is preferable to
> > eg. CORBA or Java RMI (maybe tunneled through HTTP if there's
> > a need to traverse firewalls) for application specific comms.
> > How is application specific markup better than an application
> > specific binary wire protocol?
>
>[...] In other words
>
>   Intranet = good connectivity = few users = stateful = CORBA/RMI
>   Internet = bad connectivity = many users = stateless = XML/RDF/XMI

I think the #1 reason is probably barrier to entry.  You can get an 
HTTP stack and an XML parser for pretty much anything, and you can get 
HTTP and XML through pretty much anything (such as 
firewalls).  Learning curves and deployment times tend to also be shorter.

CORBA requires tightly-coupled software at both ends.  RMI rides on the 
pervasiveness of Java, but both RMI and CORBA require HTTP tunneling to 
get through firewalls -- just another piece that XML/HTTP doesn't require.

Besides, the smaller a piece is, the easier it is to swallow.

--
Joe Lapp
Principal Architect
webMethods, Inc.
http://www.webMethods.com

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