We pursue the goal of transparently distributing object-oriented programs by constructing a system of auxiliary objects which behave like representatives of the original classes of the program. They are an object-oriented extension of the well-known "stub modules". The best way of designing these auxiliary objects is to have them mirror the inheritance structure of the original objects. Their construction is simple in the basic case of distributing a program of simple classes and objects between two machines, allowing objects to be remote. But it gets more complicated as soon as solutions for more general distribution situations and typical object-oriented situations are desired. Distribution within objects leads to split objects. Special auxiliary objects for remote inheritance provide the technical solution for this feature. The implementation concept supports language heterogeneity.
Index Terms:
object-oriented programming; inheritance; distributed processing; transparent object distribution; language heterogeneity; object-oriented programs; auxiliary objects; stub modules; program distribution; object classes; remote objects; split objects; remote inheritance
Citation:
T. Wolff, "Transparently distributing objects with inheritance," hicss, pp.222, 28th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS'95), 1995