Using standard tools to build an Open, client/server prototype

Abstract

This paper will benefit software developers, MIS managers, and end users because it will help explain some of the practical benefits and implications of the Open Software Foundation (OSF) Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) in the context of a prototype application environment that was developed using the OSF DCE. The environment, a Financial Desktop, consists of a series of OSF Motif and MicrosoftWindows based clients which obtain information and resources transparently from a series of DCE based services, that reside on a range of heterogeneous computing hardware and software, including multivendor operating systems, networks, architectures, and databases. This paper will explain how DCE was used to implement this Financial Desktop in such a way that installed assets were leveraged, new technologies were integrated, and the focus of control for this environment has shifted away from a single hardware or software vendor. The use of the DCE remote procedure call (RPC) is discussed with respect to the role that it plays in this environment.