The main functionality of the communication system is to register and connect loaded modules as well as to provide a means of exchanging messages. Extended with a number of system modules providing facilities like network access or synchronous collaboration we have a flexible and powerful means for building dynamic, interactive applications. In the following sections we will introduce DINO, a Java approach to such a Distributed Interactive Network Objects system. The heart of DINO is the Open Messaging Architecture. Open messaging means that all the modules use messages to communicate.
Messages are like containers, freely expandable and capable of holding any kind of object.
Messages are either routed through the system to distinct receivers or they are broadcasted. Each module connecting to the system gets its own messaging module. This messaging module serves as an interface for the module and provides an API to communicate and collaborate with other modules. Thus writing new modules is rather easy. A DINO session is initialized by a Java applet embedded in any HTML page.