Experience with the Suite distributed object model

The Suite operating system is an extension of Unix that supports distributed, persistent, multiuser, and protected objects. The Suite object layer is used to create novel classes of interactive applications not found in traditional systems. These applications can be divided into loosely-coupled applications that is, applications consisting of components that execute in different address spaces residing possibly on different hosts and executing possibly on behalf of different users; and collaborative applications, that is, applications that allow multiple users interacting possibly from different workstations to share results in realtime. The design and implementation of some of the applications developed using Suite are outlined, and the positive and negative consequences of integrating objects with a conventional system are discussed.<>