What is middleware?

[Robinho]

Reboomed but the end-end client wants a quick skill summary.

One of the topics is "middleware".

I am a .net web dev, i've probably unwittingly used these things. So what do they want me to write?

Lots of Love,

Rob

[Mich the Tester]

It's what you stack on the shelf in between hardware and tupperware.

[BigTime]

Software that transcends hardware. They probably want you to write an interface to a COTS middleware product. e.g. MQ, MSMQ, Tibco.

[Robinho]

Does ADO count?

[stek]

I might be wrong but I always view it as some sort of metadirectory, like the old not-missed Sun Meta-Directory that could take LDAP type stuff and stick it in Oracle and vice-versa, via Perl-driven join-engines that drove me mad the time...

Aslo Messaging Queues and Brokers, sync and async messaging that can take info from one product, re-format in XML and squirt into another and acknowledge it (or not if async). This is where the tester would always say (no, it's not come back or in Oracle, it's sat in MQ....)

So I'd say anything that sits in the middle and does some sort of translation....

[Mich the Tester]

I might be wrong but I always view it as some sort of metadirectory, like the old not-missed Sun Meta-Directory that could take LDAP type stuff and stick it in Oracle and vice-versa, via Perl-driven join-engines that drove me mad the time...

Aslo Messaging Queues and Brokers, sync and async messaging that can take info from one product, re-format in XML and squirt into another and acknowledge it (or not if async). This is where the tester would always say (no, it's not come back or in Oracle, it's sat in MQ....)

So I'd say anything that sits in the middle and ensures testers can carry on invoicing...

ftfy

[Robinho]

Ok, i am just going to be honest and say i have limited experience there.

[Old Hack]

ADO isn't middleware. I think Tibco almost typifies middleware.

[Ketchup]

It depends on what context it is used. It is generally a piece of software that is used as an interface between 2 environments, may be software and hardware, or between 2 different pieces of software.

[Mich the Tester]

Ok, i am just going to be honest and say i have limited experience there.

I have limited knowledge of it but it's made me some money down the years.