Orbacus FAQs

Please see support FAQs for Orbacus support questions.

Q: What is Orbacus?
A:Orbacus is a CORBA 2.6 environment designed for easy development and fast deployment. Development and deployment can be done in both C++ and Java. Its small footprint allows it to be easily integrated into other applications. It is provided with source code and is supported directly by the development engineers. It will be fully supported by IONA at least until 2010 on the latest versions of OS and compiler combinations. Orbacus is a mature product that is deployed in over a thousand mission critical systems in the telecommunications, defense, government, aerospace and transportation industries.

Q. How much does Orbacus cost
A.Development kits are free and are available on the website for download. Annual Standard support is $800. For competitive runtime pricing, Silver, Gold and Old Version Support contact info@iona.com.

Q: Where can I find Orbacus documentation, examples or demos?
A: For example and demo programs (after unpacking your new Orbacus product) have a look at the directories */demo and */test. PDF and HTML versions of the Orbacus User Guide are available.
For a PDF viewer, please see Adobe Acrobat.

Q. What operating systems and compilers does Orbacus support?
A. see - Platforms

Q: Is it possible to download precompiled Orbacus binaries from the IONA web page?
A: No, we don't have precompiled binaries for Orbacus for C++ For example, we would have to publish versions with and without debugging information, with and without optimization, with and without shared libraries, etc. In addition, not all Orbacus users use the same libraries , for example some use differing iostream libraries for their Visual C++ programs. The number of combinations in use within the CORBA community we support are virtually endless.
One big advantage of Orbacus for C++ is that you have the source code, and therefore are able to build a version that exactly fits your needs. The IDL-to-Java translator and other utilities are written in C++ and are included in the Orbacus for C++ distribution. To avoid requiring Orbacus for Java users to build the C++ distribution, we do provide executables of the Java tools for our supported platforms.

Q: Why is Orbacus so easy to integrate into my environment?
A: It is easier to make Orbacus "fit" into an existing environment because it is compiled from source, allows customers to:

• Choose features of the product they wish to use in their application to optimize size and speed characteristics.
• Create "debug builds" to help perfect CORBA applications.
• Use the product's service implementations as examples of real world CORBA services.
• Obtain and apply source code patches more easily than for traditional binary products.
• Build applications on different distributions of Linux because of the built-in independence.
• Choose project-specific operating system and compiler settings.
• Rebuild Orbacus to rebound from binary incompatible changes of the underlying OS.
• Port Orbacus to platforms or compiler versions that are unsupported by IONA.

Q. I can't find older versions of Orbacus on the download site. Where are they?
A: A. IONA can provide support for older versions of Orbacus. Please contact info@iona.com for more information and pricing.

CORBA

Q: Where can I find more information about CORBA?
A:The Object Management Group (OMG) specifies the CORBA standard. The OMG is the world's largest software consortium with more than 800 member organizations. More information is available at www.omg.org

Q: Is Orbacus Y2K compliant?
A: Yes, Orbacus is Y2K compliant.

PRODUCT FEATURES

Q: Which CORBA Services are provided with Orbacus?
A: Orbacus includes C++ and Java implementations of four standard OMG Services. Naming, Event and Property services are included in the base product while Notification is separately packaged and licensed. Other services, such as Trader and Logger, are available in the IONA Orbix family of products. Please contact info@iona.com for more information and pricing.

Q: Which language mappings are available with Orbacus?
A: Orbacus supports the C++ and Java language mappings.

Q: Does Orbacus include an Interface Repository?
A: Orbacus includes an Interface Repository (IFR) that you can use with both Orbacus for C++ and Orbacus for Java. The IFR is used by several applications shipped with Orbacus (e.g., the IDL-to-C++ and IDL-to-Java translators). You can find more information about the IFR in the Orbacus Manuals.

Q: Does Orbacus include an Implementation Repository?
A: Orbacus 4 provides a full-featured IMR. Please refer to the Orbacus Manuals for further information.

Q: Does Orbacus support bi-directional IIOP?
A:Orbacus provides both standardized bi-directional GIOP and a bi-directional "mix-in" plug-in, which transforms any TCP/IP-based plug-in into a bi-directional one. It has the advantage that it can be used not only with IIOP, but also with FreeSSL, providing secure firewall tunneling capabilities. For further information on the bi-directional plug-in, please refer to the Orbacus Manuals.