Truths and Beliefs about the Use of Real-Time Distributed Object Computing in Complex Industrial Applications

Although real-time distributed object computing (RT-DOC) concepts have been extensively discussed in the literature over the last decade, there is still some concern from industrial practitioners about the reliability, effectiveness, and performance of existing methods and tools. This has contributed to the fact that currently several complex real-time distributed applications are still being developed without adopting RTDOC concepts. “Distributed object middleware, methods, and tools still represent a high technological risk,” argue several practitioners. This seems to contradict arguments commonly used by OO methodologists and tool vendors (as well as most of papers published in the IEEE proceedings of ISORC conferences). They consider RT-DOC concepts as a powerful conceptual framework to handle complexity in the development of distributed real-time applications, promoting reusability, modularity, and allowing a smooth transition along the development phases, from requirements engineering to implementation.