Java IDL or RMI-IIOP?

[Ashish Jain]

This question from whizlabs simulator.
You are working for a company that has yet to realize the full potential of Java. You offer to show them some of the great things Java can do by integrating a new application with an existing CORBA system. Your bosses will then assess the performance and reliability of this new system. How will you connect your RMI application to the CORBA system
a) JAVA IDL
b) RMI-IIOP
Whizlabs says answer is JavaIDL but i personally think it shud be RMI-IIOP. As we just need to access corba systems, which we can do using RMI over IIOP. why to write complex IDL mappings etc. Moreover it says, to connect "RMI" application to CORBA system..
wht u say guys?
ashish... :roll:
[ December 26, 2003: Message edited by: Ashish Jain ]

[Vishwa Kumba]

Ashish,
I understand RMI uses JRMP. Is it possible to access a CORBA application with RMI-IIOP?...Are you sure?
CORBA supports IIOP. EJB2.0 Containers support/understand RMI-IIOP, but CORBA orbs, do they all support RMI-IIOP?...
But traditionally it's always been possible to integrate a Java appplication to a CORBA application with Java-IDL.

[Ashish Jain]

I guess.. key to this problem is "RMI-IIOP provides interoperability with other CORBA objects implemented in various languages - but only if all the remote interfaces are originally defined as Java RMI interfaces" .. so mostly in case of EJBs container, we need RMI-iiop

[john tally]

CORBA systems interact through IDL based frameworks to overcome language bindings. IIOP is the protocol used by the inter orbs to communicate with each other. Since the client is a RMI it is assured that under lying protocol is JRMP but it is not RMI-IIOP (as far as I know). That is a way to implement the Protocol tunneling and is prefered by the containers for comptability. Hence the answer should be 'IDL'.

Give me your thougths.

[Srinivas Bitla]

This might help you a bit.
Java IDL should be used when accessing existing CORBA servers is the main purpose, whereas RMI-IIOP should be used when serving requests from CORBA clients is the main purpose.