Middleware (distributed applications). Middleware in the context of distributed applications is software that provides services beyond those provided by the operating system to enable the various components of a distributed system to communicate and manage data. Middleware supports and simplifies complex distributed applications. It includes web servers, application servers, messaging and similar tools that support application development and delivery.  Middleware is especially integral to modern information technology based on XML, SOAP, Web services, and service-oriented architecture.

Middleware often enables interoperability between applications that run on different operating systems, by supplying services so the application can exchange data in a standards-based way. Middleware sits "in the middle" between application software that may be working on different operating systems. It is similar to the middle layer of a three-tier single system architecture, except that it is stretched across multiple systems or applications. Examples include EAI software, telecommunications software, transaction monitors, and messaging-and-queueing software.

The distinction between operating system and middleware functionality is, to some extent, arbitrary. While core kernel functionality can only be provided by the operating system itself, some functionality previously provided by separately sold middleware is now integrated in operating systems. A typical example is the TCP/IP stack for telecommunications, nowadays included virtually in every operating system.

Definitions
Middleware is defined as software that provides a link between separate software applications. It is sometimes referred to as plumbing because it connects two applications and passes data between them. Middleware allows data contained in one database to be accessed through another.  This makes it particularly useful for enterprise application integration and data integration tasks.

In more abstract terms, middleware is "The software layer that lies between the operating system and applications on each side of a distributed computing system in a network."

Origins 
Middleware gained popularity in the 1980s as a solution to the problem of how to link newer applications to older legacy systems, although the term had been in use since 1968. It also facilitated distributed processing, the connection of multiple applications to create a larger application, usually over a network.

Use
Middleware services provide a more functional set of application programming interfaces to allow an application to:
Locate transparently across the network, thus providing interaction with another service or application
Filter data to make them friendly usable or public via anonymization process for privacy protection (for example)
Be independent from network services
Be reliable and always available
Add complementary attributes like semantics
when compared to the operating system and network services.

Middleware offers some unique technological advantages for business and industry.  For example, traditional database systems are usually deployed in closed environments where users access the system only via a restricted network or intranet (e.g., an enterprise’s internal network). With the phenomenal growth of the World Wide Web, users can access virtually any database for which they have proper access rights from anywhere in the world.  Middleware addresses the problem of varying levels of interoperability among different database structures.  Middleware facilitates transparent access to legacy database management systems (DBMSs) or applications via a web server without regard to database-specific characteristics.

Businesses frequently use middleware applications to link information from departmental databases, such as payroll, sales, and accounting, or databases housed in multiple geographic locations.  In the highly competitive healthcare community, laboratories make extensive use of middleware applications for data mining, laboratory information system (LIS) backup, and to combine systems during hospital mergers.  Middleware helps bridge the gap between separate LISs in a newly formed healthcare network following a hospital buyout.

Middleware can help software developers avoid having to write application programming interfaces (API) for every control program, by serving as an independent programming interface for their applications.
For Future Internet network operation through traffic monitoring in multi-domain scenarios, using mediator tools (middleware) is a powerful help since they allow operators, searchers and service providers to supervise Quality of service and analyse eventual failures in  telecommunication services. The Middleware stack is devised of several components (CSMS, TV Statistics & Client applications). It is known as the software brains of OTT platforms as it controls and interconnects all the components of the solution. The Content and Subscriber Management System (CSMS) is the central part of the solution commonly referred to as an administration portal. Apart from being the main interface for operator personnel to administer the TV service (Subscribers, Content, Packages, etc.) it also controls the majority of TV services and interacts with streaming & CDN and DRM serves to deliver Live, VOD and recorded content to the end users. It also integrates with external systems for billing, provisioning and with EPG and VOD content providers. Client applications authorize the CSMS and communicate with it, to provide required TV services to the end users on different devices. 

Finally, e-commerce uses middleware to assist in handling rapid and secure transactions over many different types of computer environments.  In short, middleware has become a critical element across a broad range of industries, thanks to its ability to bring together resources across dissimilar networks or computing platforms.

In 2004 members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) carried out a study of Middleware with respect to system integration in broadcast environments. This involved system design engineering experts from 10 major European broadcasters working over a 12-month period to understand the effect of predominantly software-based products to media production and broadcasting system design techniques. The resulting reports Tech 3300 and Tech 3300s were published and are freely available from the EBU web site.

Types

Message-oriented middleware
Message-oriented middleware (MOM)  is middleware where transactions or event notifications are delivered between disparate systems or components by way of messages, often via an enterprise messaging system.  With MOM, messages sent to the client are collected and stored until they are acted upon, while the client continues with other processing.

 Enterprise messaging
 An enterprise messaging system is a type of middleware that facilitates message passing between disparate systems or components in standard formats, often using XML, SOAP or web services.  As part of an enterprise messaging system, message broker software may queue, duplicate, translate and deliver messages to disparate systems or components in a messaging system.

 Enterprise service bus
 Enterprise service bus (ESB) is defined by the Burton Group as "some type of integration middleware product that supports both message-oriented middleware and Web services".

Intelligent middleware

Intelligent Middleware (IMW) provides real-time intelligence and event management through intelligent agents. The IMW manages the real-time processing of high volume sensor signals and turns these signals into intelligent and actionable business information. The actionable information is then delivered in end-user power dashboards to individual users or is pushed to systems within or outside the enterprise. It is able to support various heterogeneous types of hardware and software and provides an API for interfacing with external systems. It should have a highly scalable, distributed architecture which embeds intelligence throughout the network to transform raw data systematically into actionable and relevant knowledge. It can also be packaged with tools to view and manage operations and build advanced network applications most effectively.

Content-centric middleware
Content-centric middleware offers a simple provider-consumer abstraction through which applications can issue requests for uniquely identified content, without worrying about where or how it is obtained. Juno is one example, which allows applications to generate content requests associated with high-level delivery requirements. The middleware then adapts the underlying delivery to access the content from sources that are best suited to matching the requirements. This is therefore similar to Publish/subscribe middleware, as well as the Content-centric networking paradigm.

 Remote procedure call
 Remote procedure call middleware enables a client to use services running on remote systems.  The process can be synchronous or  asynchronous.
 Object request broker
 With object request broker middleware, it is possible for applications to send objects and request services in an object-oriented system.
 SQL-oriented data access
 SQL-oriented Data Access is middleware between applications and database servers.
 Embedded middleware
 Embedded middleware provides communication services and software/firmware integration interface that operates between embedded applications, the embedded operating system, and external applications.

Other
Other sources include these additional classifications:
Transaction processing monitors provides tools and an environment to develop and deploy distributed applications.
Application servers software installed on a computer to facilitate the serving (running) of other applications.

Integration Levels

Data Integration
Integration of data resources like files and databases

Cloud Integration
Integration between various cloud services

B2B Integration
Integration of data resources and partner interfaces

Application Integration
Integration of applications managed by a company

Vendors
IBM, Red Hat, Oracle Corporation and Microsoft are some of the vendors that provide middleware software. Vendors such as Axway, SAP, TIBCO, Informatica, Objective Interface Systems, Pervasive, ScaleOut Software and webMethods were specifically founded to provide more niche middleware solutions.  Groups such as the Apache Software Foundation, OpenSAF, the ObjectWeb Consortium (now OW2) and OASIS' AMQP encourage the development of open source middleware.  Microsoft .NET "Framework" architecture is essentially "Middleware" with typical middleware functions distributed between the various products, with most inter-computer interaction by industry standards, open APIs or RAND software licence. Solace provides middleware in purpose-built hardware for implementations that may experience scale. StormMQ provides Message Oriented Middleware as a service.

See also

 Comparison of business integration software
 Middleware Analysts
 Service-oriented architecture
 Enterprise Service Bus
 Event-driven SOA
 ObjectWeb

References

External links

Internet2 Middleware Initiative 
SWAMI - Swedish Alliance for Middleware Infrastructure
Open Middleware Infrastructure Institute (OMII-UK)
Middleware Integration Levels 
European Broadcasting Union Middleware report.
More detailed supplement to the European Broadcasting Union Middleware report.
ObjectWeb - international community developing open-source middleware

 
Systems engineering