Bionic Buffalo Tech Note #25: Quick Start Guide to Writing CORBA Server Applications
Basic Steps
Creating a server application consists of the following basic steps:
1. Design the interfaces.
2. Design the servant and the adapter configuration.
3. Make some decisions about the application environment and implementation.
4. Compile the interface IDL to create the header files, stubs, and other necessary programs and data
structures.
5. Design and code the application.
6. Arrange to convey critical information to client application developers.
7. Link and run the application.
The steps common to almost all programming (design review, testing, documentation, and so on) are
omitted from this list unless there are special considerations to be brought up for writing CORBA
client applications.
Design the Interfaces
The end product of the first step includes, as a minimum, the IDL description of the interfaces and all
necessary data definitions (structures and other types) necessary for operation invocation.
A description in IDL is incomplete. Not only was IDL not intended to describe activities,
implementations, and other things beyond the scope of object interfaces, it also has limitations in its
primary function. There is no way to describe ranges of simple types in IDL, for example. (It can be
said that a type is
short, for instance, but what are the minimum and maximum or specific allowable
values?) Do not forget to include all information in the interface description, not merely those things
which can be expressed in IDL. At the very least consider a UML description of the system.
Design the Servant and the Adapter Configuration
The first part of servant design usually is to decide the lifetime of an object, and how object state
information (if any) is to be kept. When reasonable values for the seven POA policies have become
obvious, then this phase of development probably is nearly complete.
Determine Application Environment and Implementation
The remarks in Tech Note #20 regarding this step are appropriate here.
Page 8 of 12