<s>
Middleware	B-General_Concept
in	O
the	O
context	O
of	O
distributed	B-Architecture
applications	I-Architecture
is	O
software	O
that	O
provides	O
services	O
beyond	O
those	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
to	O
enable	O
the	O
various	O
components	O
of	O
a	O
distributed	B-Architecture
system	I-Architecture
to	O
communicate	O
and	O
manage	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Middleware	B-General_Concept
supports	O
and	O
simplifies	O
complex	O
distributed	B-Architecture
applications	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
includes	O
web	B-Application
servers	I-Application
,	O
application	B-Application
servers	I-Application
,	O
messaging	O
and	O
similar	O
tools	O
that	O
support	O
application	O
development	O
and	O
delivery	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Middleware	B-General_Concept
is	O
especially	O
integral	O
to	O
modern	O
information	O
technology	O
based	O
on	O
XML	B-Protocol
,	O
SOAP	B-Application
,	O
Web	O
services	O
,	O
and	O
service-oriented	O
architecture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Middleware	B-General_Concept
often	O
enables	O
interoperability	O
between	O
applications	O
that	O
run	O
on	O
different	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
,	O
by	O
supplying	O
services	O
so	O
the	O
application	O
can	O
exchange	O
data	O
in	O
a	O
standards-based	O
way	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Middleware	B-General_Concept
sits	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
middle	O
"	O
between	O
application	B-Application
software	I-Application
that	O
may	O
be	O
working	O
on	O
different	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
middle	O
layer	O
of	O
a	O
three-tier	B-Operating_System
single	O
system	O
architecture	O
,	O
except	O
that	O
it	O
is	O
stretched	O
across	O
multiple	O
systems	O
or	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
include	O
EAI	B-Architecture
software	O
,	O
telecommunications	O
software	O
,	O
transaction	B-Application
monitors	I-Application
,	O
and	O
messaging-and-queueing	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
distinction	O
between	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
and	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
functionality	O
is	O
,	O
to	O
some	O
extent	O
,	O
arbitrary	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
core	O
kernel	O
functionality	O
can	O
only	O
be	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
itself	O
,	O
some	O
functionality	O
previously	O
provided	O
by	O
separately	O
sold	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
is	O
now	O
integrated	O
in	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
typical	O
example	O
is	O
the	O
TCP/IP	B-Protocol
stack	I-Protocol
for	O
telecommunications	O
,	O
nowadays	O
included	O
virtually	O
in	O
every	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Middleware	B-General_Concept
is	O
defined	O
as	O
software	O
that	O
provides	O
a	O
link	O
between	O
separate	O
software	B-Application
applications	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Middleware	B-General_Concept
allows	O
data	O
contained	O
in	O
one	O
database	O
to	O
be	O
accessed	O
through	O
another	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
makes	O
it	O
particularly	O
useful	O
for	O
enterprise	B-Architecture
application	I-Architecture
integration	I-Architecture
and	O
data	B-General_Concept
integration	I-General_Concept
tasks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
more	O
abstract	O
terms	O
,	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
is	O
"	O
The	O
software	O
layer	O
that	O
lies	O
between	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
and	O
applications	O
on	O
each	O
side	O
of	O
a	O
distributed	B-Architecture
computing	I-Architecture
system	O
in	O
a	O
network.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Middleware	B-General_Concept
is	O
a	O
relatively	O
new	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
computing	O
landscape	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
gained	O
popularity	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
as	O
a	O
solution	O
to	O
the	O
problem	O
of	O
how	O
to	O
link	O
newer	O
applications	O
to	O
older	O
legacy	O
systems	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
term	O
had	O
been	O
in	O
use	O
since	O
1968.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx1	O
It	O
also	O
facilitated	O
distributed	B-Architecture
processing	I-Architecture
,	O
the	O
connection	O
of	O
multiple	O
applications	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
larger	O
application	O
,	O
usually	O
over	O
a	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Middleware	B-General_Concept
services	O
provide	O
a	O
more	O
functional	O
set	O
of	O
application	B-Application
programming	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
to	O
allow	O
an	O
application	O
to	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
when	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
and	O
network	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Middleware	B-General_Concept
offers	O
some	O
unique	O
technological	O
advantages	O
for	O
business	O
and	O
industry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
traditional	O
database	B-Application
systems	I-Application
are	O
usually	O
deployed	O
in	O
closed	O
environments	O
where	O
users	O
access	O
the	O
system	O
only	O
via	O
a	O
restricted	O
network	O
or	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
an	O
enterprise	O
’s	O
internal	B-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Middleware	B-General_Concept
addresses	O
the	O
problem	O
of	O
varying	O
levels	O
of	O
interoperability	O
among	O
different	O
database	O
structures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Middleware	B-General_Concept
facilitates	O
transparent	O
access	O
to	O
legacy	O
database	B-Application
management	I-Application
systems	I-Application
(	O
DBMSs	O
)	O
or	O
applications	O
via	O
a	O
web	B-Application
server	I-Application
without	O
regard	O
to	O
database-specific	O
characteristics.Peng	O
,	O
C	O
,	O
Chen	O
,	O
S	O
,	O
Chung	O
,	O
J	O
,	O
Roy-Chowdhury	O
,	O
A	O
,	O
and	O
Srinivasan	O
,	O
V	O
.	O
(	O
1998	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Businesses	O
frequently	O
use	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
applications	O
to	O
link	O
information	O
from	O
departmental	O
databases	B-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
payroll	O
,	O
sales	O
,	O
and	O
accounting	O
,	O
or	O
databases	B-Application
housed	O
in	O
multiple	O
geographic	O
locations.Bougettaya	O
,	O
A	O
,	O
Malik	O
,	O
Z	O
,	O
Rezgui	O
,	O
A	O
,	O
and	O
Korff	O
,	O
L	O
.	O
(	O
2006	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Databases	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Journal	O
of	O
Database	B-Application
Management	I-Application
,	O
17(4 )	O
,	O
20-39	O
,	O
41-46	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
highly	O
competitive	O
healthcare	O
community	O
,	O
laboratories	O
make	O
extensive	O
use	O
of	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
applications	O
for	O
data	B-Application
mining	I-Application
,	O
laboratory	B-Application
information	I-Application
system	I-Application
(	O
LIS	O
)	O
backup	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
combine	O
systems	O
during	O
hospital	O
mergers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Middleware	B-General_Concept
helps	O
bridge	O
the	O
gap	O
between	O
separate	O
LISs	O
in	O
a	O
newly	O
formed	O
healthcare	O
network	O
following	O
a	O
hospital	O
buyout.Bagwell	O
,	O
H	O
.	O
(	O
2008	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Middleware	B-General_Concept
:	O
providing	O
value	O
beyond	O
autoverification	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Middleware	B-General_Concept
can	O
help	O
software	O
developers	O
avoid	O
having	O
to	O
write	O
application	B-Application
programming	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
(	O
API	B-Application
)	O
for	O
every	O
control	O
program	O
,	O
by	O
serving	O
as	O
an	O
independent	O
programming	B-Application
interface	I-Application
for	O
their	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
Future	B-Architecture
Internet	I-Architecture
network	O
operation	O
through	O
traffic	O
monitoring	O
in	O
multi-domain	O
scenarios	O
,	O
using	O
mediator	O
tools	O
(	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
)	O
is	O
a	O
powerful	O
help	O
since	O
they	O
allow	O
operators	O
,	O
searchers	O
and	O
service	O
providers	O
to	O
supervise	O
Quality	O
of	O
service	O
and	O
analyse	O
eventual	O
failures	O
in	O
telecommunication	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Finally	O
,	O
e-commerce	O
uses	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
to	O
assist	O
in	O
handling	O
rapid	O
and	O
secure	O
transactions	O
over	O
many	O
different	O
types	O
of	O
computer	O
environments.Charles	O
,	O
J	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Middleware	B-General_Concept
moves	O
to	O
the	O
forefront	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
short	O
,	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
has	O
become	O
a	O
critical	O
element	O
across	O
a	O
broad	O
range	O
of	O
industries	O
,	O
thanks	O
to	O
its	O
ability	O
to	O
bring	O
together	O
resources	O
across	O
dissimilar	O
networks	O
or	O
computing	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2004	O
members	O
of	O
the	O
European	O
Broadcasting	O
Union	O
(	O
EBU	O
)	O
carried	O
out	O
a	O
study	O
of	O
Middleware	B-General_Concept
with	O
respect	O
to	O
system	O
integration	O
in	O
broadcast	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Message-oriented	B-Application
middleware	I-Application
(	O
MOM	O
)	O
Curry	O
,	O
Edward	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Message-Oriented	B-Application
Middleware	I-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Middleware	B-General_Concept
for	O
Communications	O
,	O
ed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
is	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
where	O
transactions	O
or	O
event	O
notifications	O
are	O
delivered	O
between	O
disparate	O
systems	O
or	O
components	O
by	O
way	O
of	O
messages	O
,	O
often	O
via	O
an	O
enterprise	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
enterprise	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
system	I-Application
is	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
that	O
facilitates	O
message	O
passing	O
between	O
disparate	O
systems	O
or	O
components	O
in	O
standard	O
formats	O
,	O
often	O
using	O
XML	B-Protocol
,	O
SOAP	B-Application
or	O
web	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
part	O
of	O
an	O
enterprise	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
system	I-Application
,	O
message	B-General_Concept
broker	I-General_Concept
software	O
may	O
queue	O
,	O
duplicate	O
,	O
translate	O
and	O
deliver	O
messages	O
to	O
disparate	O
systems	O
or	O
components	O
in	O
a	O
messaging	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Enterprise	B-Application
service	I-Application
bus	I-Application
(	O
ESB	O
)	O
is	O
defined	O
by	O
the	O
Burton	O
Group	O
as	O
"	O
some	O
type	O
of	O
integration	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
product	O
that	O
supports	O
both	O
message-oriented	B-Application
middleware	I-Application
and	O
Web	O
services	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Intelligent	O
Middleware	B-General_Concept
(	O
IMW	O
)	O
provides	O
real-time	O
intelligence	O
and	O
event	O
management	O
through	O
intelligent	B-General_Concept
agents	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
able	O
to	O
support	O
various	O
heterogeneous	O
types	O
of	O
hardware	O
and	O
software	O
and	O
provides	O
an	O
API	B-Application
for	O
interfacing	O
with	O
external	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Content-centric	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
offers	O
a	O
simple	O
provider-consumer	O
''	O
abstraction	O
through	O
which	O
applications	O
can	O
issue	O
requests	O
for	O
uniquely	O
identified	O
content	O
,	O
without	O
worrying	O
about	O
where	O
or	O
how	O
it	O
is	O
obtained	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
then	O
adapts	O
the	O
underlying	O
delivery	O
to	O
access	O
the	O
content	O
from	O
sources	O
that	O
are	O
best	O
suited	O
to	O
matching	O
the	O
requirements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
therefore	O
similar	O
to	O
Publish/subscribe	B-Operating_System
middleware	B-General_Concept
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
Content-centric	B-Protocol
networking	I-Protocol
paradigm	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Remote	B-Operating_System
procedure	I-Operating_System
call	I-Operating_System
middleware	B-General_Concept
enables	O
a	O
client	O
to	O
use	O
services	O
running	O
on	O
remote	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
process	O
can	O
be	O
synchronous	O
or	O
asynchronous	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
object	B-General_Concept
request	I-General_Concept
broker	I-General_Concept
middleware	B-General_Concept
,	O
it	O
is	O
possible	O
for	O
applications	O
to	O
send	O
objects	O
and	O
request	O
services	O
in	O
an	O
object-oriented	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SQL-oriented	O
Data	O
Access	O
is	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
between	O
applications	O
and	O
database	O
servers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Embedded	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
provides	O
communication	O
services	O
and	O
software/firmware	O
integration	O
interface	O
that	O
operates	O
between	O
embedded	O
applications	O
,	O
the	O
embedded	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
external	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Transaction	B-Application
processing	I-Application
monitors	I-Application
provides	O
tools	O
and	O
an	O
environment	O
to	O
develop	O
and	O
deploy	B-Application
distributed	B-Architecture
applications	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Application	B-Application
servers	I-Application
software	O
installed	O
on	O
a	O
computer	O
to	O
facilitate	O
the	O
serving	O
(	O
running	O
)	O
of	O
other	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
,	O
Red	O
Hat	O
,	O
Oracle	B-Application
Corporation	I-Application
and	O
Microsoft	O
are	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
vendors	O
that	O
provide	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Vendors	O
such	O
as	O
Axway	B-Application
,	O
SAP	B-Application
,	O
TIBCO	O
,	O
Informatica	O
,	O
Objective	O
Interface	O
Systems	O
,	O
Pervasive	O
,	O
ScaleOut	O
Software	O
and	O
webMethods	O
were	O
specifically	O
founded	O
to	O
provide	O
more	O
niche	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
solutions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Groups	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Apache	O
Software	O
Foundation	O
,	O
OpenSAF	B-General_Concept
,	O
the	O
ObjectWeb	B-Architecture
Consortium	I-Architecture
(	O
now	O
OW2	B-Architecture
)	O
and	O
OASIS	O
 '	O
AMQP	B-Operating_System
encourage	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
middleware	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
.NET	O
"	O
Framework	O
"	O
architecture	O
is	O
essentially	O
"	O
Middleware	B-General_Concept
"	O
with	O
typical	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
functions	O
distributed	O
between	O
the	O
various	O
products	O
,	O
with	O
most	O
inter-computer	O
interaction	O
by	O
industry	O
standards	O
,	O
open	O
APIs	B-Application
or	O
RAND	O
software	O
licence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Solace	O
provides	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
in	O
purpose-built	O
hardware	O
for	O
implementations	O
that	O
may	O
experience	O
scale	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
StormMQ	O
provides	O
Message	B-Application
Oriented	I-Application
Middleware	I-Application
as	O
a	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
