Can J2EE and .NET Provide Cross-Platform Interoperability? - Microsoft .NET
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Microsoft’s .NET platform is component based and sits on top of the Windows operating system. The .NET architecture is Web services-centric and paves the way for interoperability between technologies residing on the .NET platform. The ability to build applications in any programming language targeting the .NET framework is one of the most exciting innovations released by Microsoft in recent years. They designed the Framework to run on any platform, provided the Framework is installed on that system.
The .NET infrastructure presents a multi-tiered approach to distributed programming and uses SOAP as the primary technology for supporting Web services. The components consist of classes embedded within namespaces such as System.Object, System. Net, System.Windows.Forms, System.Web, and System.XML.
In a distributed environment, separating .NET’s presentation layer from the middle-tier business logic layer is a good practice. The third tier consists of low-level components for managing services such as database access, connection to legacy applications, and so forth. The .NET Framework uses HTTP as the communications protocol for messaging and exchanging documents via the Internet. This protocol allows any programming language, platform, or middleware to be an interactive participant in cross-platform interoperability. XML serves as the .NET architectural core component and provides the means with which to transmit XML-based SOAP messages.
The three core components of the Framework consist of the Common Language Runtime (CLR), the Common Type Specification (CTS), and the Common Language Specification (CLS). The CLR performs a wide variety of low-level system tasks, i.e., memory management, error handling, type checking, and security. The CTS defines common data types all programming languages targeting the Framework must conform to in order to receive multilanguage, interoperability support. Remember, a .NET type refers to a collection of classes, interfaces, delegates, and structures supported by the CLR. The CLS sets forth guidelines a .NET-aware compiler must follow before it can receive Framework support. Objects must expose to callers only features common to all .NET hosted languages.
What is interoperability? Interoperability, considered in the context of Web services, means all functional characteristics of a Web service must remain unchangeable across different operating systems, diverse applications, programming languages, and data business models. Web services, by definition, must be interoperable. Additionally, no service client must be interdependent upon other services.
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