Jade - Project Overview

Abstract

The Jade project is about Service Access and Provision on the Internet. Jade aims to fuse corporate CORBA infrastructures into the ubiquitous Web by developing software which will allow Java (Web objects) to access CORBA objects. The core component of this software is a CORBA IIOP engine, written entirely in Java.

Introduction

"Customers won't buy software, they'll buy services."

Internet growth is continuing at a staggering pace. Already it has become an important medium for businesses. Service provides in the banking, travel, retailing, insurance, TV and publishing sectors are clambering to go on-line as they realize the marketing and service provision potential of the Internet.

The Web is the fastest growing part of the Internet, and Service providers have begun to create multimedia Web sites to tap into the growing number of on- line customers.

Until recently customer access to on-line services has been limited. Customers have had to interact through static pages and simple fill-in form interfaces because of the limited capabilities of the technologies used to build the Web. But things are changing fast. Recent technologies -- such as Java, Netscape plug-ins, VRML and HTML3 -- have opened up many new opportunities for doing business on the Web.

The aim of the Jade project is:

• to realize the potential of the Web and develop new opportunities for Service Access and Provision on the Internet.

Towards this aim, Jade will:

• harness new Web technologies (focusing on Java), and
• integrate the existing corporate solutions (focusing on CORBA).

Motivating Observations

Jade's solutions are very closely linked to developments in Internet technologies. With this in mind, below we list a number of our observations on Internet related technologies which help explain Jade motivations and design decisions.

• Connectivity: The Internet is the largest information network that ever existed and will, during the next decade, be a major focus for service provision. The Web is the killer application in the Internet.
• Web Operating Systems: Web browsers, such a Netscape, are set to become the new Net based operating systems.
• The Web Programming Language: Java has gained a widespread following as the language for programming Web based applications. Many software companies have licensed it from Sun. (JavaScript and Visual Basic Script are possible rivals.)
• Integration and Access Technologies: Efforts are underway to provide interworking through Java between technologies such as: OLE, SQL, CORBA and the Web.

The Core Idea

Jade's core idea for Service Access and provision on the Internet is to allow service providers (like banks, high street retailers, travel agencies, libraries, on-line music and video stores, traffic information systems, etc.) to offer their on-line services to their customers through Web based, downloadable user interfaces.

Initially Jade will focus on providing Web access to CORBA based services.

In Jade, a downloadable user interface (to an on-line service) will be implemented as a Java applet. To enable such an applet to talk to it's CORBA based server, Jade will develop a CORBA IIOP package for Java. This package will be written entirely in the Java language itself and so will be downloadable and portable across all Java supporting platforms.

We envisage the following scenario:

1. The service provider constructs a CORBA based service.
2. The service provider programs a customized user interface to the service using Java and Jade's CORBA IIOP package.
3. The service provider uploads the user interface to the Web.
4. The customer sees the service advertised on the Web, and downloads the self-installing user interface from the Web.
5. The customer accesses the service through the customized user interface.

Benefits of Jade

Benefits to Web Based Consumers:

• "APM's Jade empowers Web users by giving them the capability to access corporate information, commerce and entertainment systems."
• The Java component in a Jade based interface will free customers from all software management issues --- Jade interfaces will automatically download and self-install at the click of a button. The Web component in a Jade interface will wrap CORBA based services in an easy-to-use, multimedia interface.

Benefits to Service Providers:

• "APM's Jade gives you the power to add Web based consumers to your customer base."
• Jade will enable service providers to expose their services to a large and growing community of Web users, no matter which computing platforms they are using. Service providers can fix bugs, improve and upgrade their customer interface software without having to disrupt customers. The flexibility of the Java component in Jade interfaces also opens up many possibilities for new customer-service interaction models.

Benefits to APM:

• "The company that pioneered the integration of CORBA into the Web."
• Jade will bring APM publicity and recognition as a company doing practical research using the latest Internet and Object technologies.

Deliverables

Deliverable 1: The Jade CORBA 2.0 IIOP Engine

A downloadable software package written entirely in Java which will facilitate Java applets to interwork with CORBA 2.0 services.

Delivery date March 28, 1996.

Deliverable 2: The Jade Web Space

A set of Web pages on APM's external Web server which introduce, describe and demo the Jade concept, and which provide access to the Jade software.

Delivery date: March 28, 1996.

Deliverable 3: Jade Documentation

Documents which describe the Jade business case, the architectural design of the Jade CORBA IIOP Engine, and how to program Java applets using Jade software.

Delivery date: March 28, 1996.

Deliverable 4: Jade Proof-Of-Concept Projects

Involvement in industrial projects in order to validate and prove the usefulness of Jade.

Delivery date: March 1996 onwards.

Deliverable 5: Jade Publicity and Dissemination

Publicize the Jade work on the Web, through mailing lists, and by giving outside presentations.

Delivery date: Februrary 1996 onwards.

Contacts

For further details please contact Asley McClenaghan (am@ansa.co.uk) or Youcef Laribi (yl@ansa.co.uk).