ObjectWeb / Orientware Agreement
Today in Shanghai, ObjectWeb and Orientware signed a MoU to promote the adoption of open-source middleware worldwide.
Orientware has given very few online signs of life so far. In the issue #414 of the Chinese Science and Technology Newsletter, it is described as "a proprietary mediumware product developed by Chinese software makers". Mediumware here stands for middleware, which maybe sounded too much like "software from the middle empire", unless it is intended to mean software for psychics...
The truth is elsewhere - Orientware is an organization that integrates the results achieved by the Program 863 in the domain of middleware by universities and institutes such as Beihang University, Peking University, the Institute of software for Chinese Science Academie and National University of Defense Technology etc. Orientware code base is a collaborative composition of various middleware platforms, such as CORBA, J2EE, TP monitor, portal and workflow built on open and standard technical specifications. The goal is to provide a comprehensive middleware platform for the Chinese national information infrastructure that could challenge its foreign counterparties with respect to performance and functionality.
In the short term, the collaboration will be kicked off by a cross membership between ObjectWeb and Orientware. Expert groups will be created. Orientware is to release parts of its proprietary code base in open source. After assessment, some of these projects may become ObjectWeb projects.
For ObjectWeb, this is a tremendous recognition of its position as the home ground for open source middleware players. This agreement is expected to foster dissemination and adoption of ObjectWeb technologies is Asia. For Orientware, the benefits lie in the opportunities to collaborate with European research centers, to contribute to adoption of standards and to gain credibility on the IT market. It's also a sign that the Chinese government is supportive of open source and may specifically target development of OSS in the next 5-years program.
Orientware has given very few online signs of life so far. In the issue #414 of the Chinese Science and Technology Newsletter, it is described as "a proprietary mediumware product developed by Chinese software makers". Mediumware here stands for middleware, which maybe sounded too much like "software from the middle empire", unless it is intended to mean software for psychics...
The truth is elsewhere - Orientware is an organization that integrates the results achieved by the Program 863 in the domain of middleware by universities and institutes such as Beihang University, Peking University, the Institute of software for Chinese Science Academie and National University of Defense Technology etc. Orientware code base is a collaborative composition of various middleware platforms, such as CORBA, J2EE, TP monitor, portal and workflow built on open and standard technical specifications. The goal is to provide a comprehensive middleware platform for the Chinese national information infrastructure that could challenge its foreign counterparties with respect to performance and functionality.
In the short term, the collaboration will be kicked off by a cross membership between ObjectWeb and Orientware. Expert groups will be created. Orientware is to release parts of its proprietary code base in open source. After assessment, some of these projects may become ObjectWeb projects.
For ObjectWeb, this is a tremendous recognition of its position as the home ground for open source middleware players. This agreement is expected to foster dissemination and adoption of ObjectWeb technologies is Asia. For Orientware, the benefits lie in the opportunities to collaborate with European research centers, to contribute to adoption of standards and to gain credibility on the IT market. It's also a sign that the Chinese government is supportive of open source and may specifically target development of OSS in the next 5-years program.
posted by Francois Letellier @ 4:42 PM
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