When I explained that the parts department had assured me that the exhaust pipe that connected directly to the muffler was a Honda part, the mechanic didn't even bat an eye. The parts department was absolutely correct, he said. It is also that curly 18-inch exhaust pipe connected to it. Toward a Middleware Framework My only consolation from this painful experience is that it has provided me with further proof that most of the problems with middleware are generic to all systems of modularized interconnecting components. Car parts a re no more standardized or interchangeable than middleware components.
Middleware products compete, complement and coexist in overlapping layers from the network up.
Two middlewa re products may overlap in numerous layers or components, and yet each may be missing a different critical layer. Such frameworks would offer the flexibility of several middleware styles, while structuring such flexibility in ways that reduce an overwhelming plethora of possibilities to a manageable army of alternatives. Although a trend toward middleware consolidation and integration is u nder way, robust, coherent, configurable, enterprise-level middleware frameworks are at least five years away. Meanwhile, organizations must face the reality of creating their own frameworks out of a chaotic middleware product space. If you missed Richard Hoffman's column, Resisting The Path of Least Resistance, take a moment to read his unique view on what Microsoft has become.