A Survey of Middleware.
Toni A. Bishop, Ramesh K. Karne · 2003
Abstract Classification is not new in this middleware area. Many authors have suggests classifying by various communication techniques, protocols (session versus sessionless), the programming interface, [5], specific categories included database-oriented, virtual system, middle-tier, gateways, and Web-enabled [25], communication with programming execution and number of participants [32], or ten specific categories [21]. While these classifications cover many aspects of middleware, we will describe a different approach. The term middleware has been used to describe many different types of software products. Middleware is essentially supplementary software that connects two or more software together. Since there is wide variety of software included under this big umbrella called middleware, categories need to be assigned to further describe and delineate each of these types. The current literature has provided several ways to classify these packages. These classifications seem to be conflicting and do not cover all the types of middleware available today. Difficulties in classifying middleware are further exasperated by the fact that some middleware can perform more than one service. We will show in this paper, a taxonomy based on the way each middleware either assists an application or helps with the integration of multiple software into a system.