ObjectWorks

ObjectWorks
Name	ObjectWorks
Developer	ObjectWorks Development Group
Released	1990s
Latest release	2000s
Programming language	C++
Operating system	Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, Linux
License	Proprietary, commercial

ObjectWorks ObjectWorks is a commercial object request broker and object-oriented middleware suite originally developed to support distributed application development on Unix platforms. It provided a graphical object modeler, an object database, and a runtime framework that integrated with tools from major vendors to enable component-based software construction. Designed during the rise of CORBA and distributed object systems, ObjectWorks competed with platforms from vendors such as Iona Technologies, VisiCorp, BEA Systems, Sun Microsystems, and IBM while interfacing with technologies from Microsoft and standards from the Object Management Group.

History

ObjectWorks emerged in the early 1990s amid interest in reusable components and distributed computing epitomized by initiatives like CORBA and the Open Software Foundation. Influences included research from institutions such as Xerox PARC, commercial frameworks from Rational Software, and earlier object databases like GemStone. During the 1990s consolidation of middleware, ObjectWorks positioned itself alongside products from Novell and Tandem Computers to serve enterprise customers in finance, telecommunications, and defense. Corporate changes in the late 1990s and early 2000s—consolidations similar to mergers involving Oracle Corporation and acquisitions resembling those by Sybase or BEA Systems—altered market dynamics and shifted investment away from multiple proprietary object platforms. Academic attention linked ObjectWorks to work on distributed object systems at universities such as MIT and Stanford University.

Features and Architecture

ObjectWorks combined a visual modeling environment, a persistent object store, and an object invocation layer. The modeling suite allowed integration with CASE tools from vendors like Rational Software and diagram interchange standards championed by OMG. The persistence layer drew from object-oriented database concepts explored at institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University and implementations like ObjectStore, while the invocation framework paralleled features of DCOM and CORBA. Interoperability targeted Unix platforms including Solaris and distributions from Red Hat and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, and supported C++ bindings analogous to those promoted by ISO/IEC JTC 1 standards. Security and management features reflected practices from NIST publications and administrative models used by HP and IBM enterprise servers.

Programming Model and APIs

The programming model emphasized class-based design, inheritance, and polymorphism with a focus on mapping persistent objects to application code. Developers used an IDL-like interface and language bindings comparable to those in CORBA implementations and tools influenced by Rational Rose. APIs provided object lifecycle management, transaction control similar to XA specification semantics, and event notification patterns seen in CORBA Event Service and JMS-style messaging. Integrations with commercial compilers such as those from GCC and Sun Microsystems C++ compilers were typical, and build tooling harmonized with systems like Make and Autoconf. Debugging and profiling workflows leveraged debuggers from GDB and performance tools resembling offerings from Amdahl and Intel.

Performance and Scalability

ObjectWorks targeted enterprise workloads requiring moderate to high concurrency and persistent storage. Performance tuning reflected optimization approaches used in object databases like Versant and cache coherency techniques comparable to those in Tuxedo transaction processing systems. Scalability strategies included horizontal distribution across clustered servers modelled after clustering used by BEA Tuxedo and load balancing methods akin to those in F5 Networks appliances. Benchmarks often referenced hardware from Sun Microsystems servers or IBM mainframes and were sensitive to network latency typical of wide-area deployments connecting sites such as New York City and London data centers.

Use Cases and Applications

Organizations used ObjectWorks for complex, long-lived systems where object modeling and persistence simplified domain representation: financial trading systems similar in scope to those deployed by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley; telecommunications management platforms comparable to those developed by Nortel and Lucent Technologies; and defense command-and-control prototypes in agencies analogous to DARPA projects. Academic prototypes at University of California, Berkeley and University of Cambridge used ObjectWorks to study distributed objects and persistence. Integrations with enterprise systems mirrored connectors to ERP suites sold by firms like SAP SE and PeopleSoft.

Licensing and Distribution

ObjectWorks was distributed under commercial, proprietary licenses with enterprise support contracts typical of software vendors like Oracle Corporation and IBM. Licensing models included per-server and per-developer seats analogous to practices from Sun Microsystems and subscription services later popularized by companies such as Red Hat. Distribution channels relied on partnerships with systems integrators similar to Accenture and regional resellers in markets served by Hewlett-Packard and Fujitsu.

Adoption and Community

Adoption peaked in sectors that required rich object modeling and strong Unix support; communities formed around systems integrators, research labs, and specialist consultancies such as those resembling Capgemini and Booz Allen Hamilton. Training and user groups echoed patterns seen with IEEE chapters and vendor user conferences similar to those run by Oracle OpenWorld or IBM World of Watson. Over time, open standards and frameworks from Apache Software Foundation projects and middleware consolidation reduced community size, but archival user groups and academic citations preserved knowledge in libraries and university curricula at institutions like Columbia University and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Category:Proprietary software