[omniORB] OmniOrb on Mac ?

[Stephen Coy]

Hi,

Christoph asked:

> 
> we are looking for a free Corba implementation for MacOS and Win.
> I came across OmniOrba and am now asking whether anyone has already
> experience with this ORB - especially in the mixed Mac-Win environment.
>
> Is it easy to build the Mac version from Resolve Software?
>
I believe that it is easy enough. The only issue is that a Win32 or *nix
platform is needed to compile IDL files at the moment. The build environment
on the Mac is IDE based - there are no pesky configuration or make files to
worry about.

> Do both versions (Mac and Win) reasonable support the standard?
This is an ORB specific question which is better answered by referencing the
web site. Standard wise, though all versions are identical.

>
> Are Mac and Win versions stable and efficient?
>
I'll leave it to others to comment upon the stability/efficiency of the
Win32 versions. I have not observed any stability problems with the Mac
version - but my testing has been limited so far. I've been hoping that
other users would help out here, but feedback has been limited so far. This
is probably because many people so far have been looking for a complete,
ready to rock implementation.

Efficiency wise, a MacOS ORB implementation of any kind is not going to be a
brilliant performer unless it is designed from the ground up for the MacOS.
This is a consequence of the Mac's cooperative multitasking model and lack
of pre-emptive threads. However, I expect the performance is still good
enough for most "client" type applications.

> Any feedback about your experience - in particular about the
> Mac side - would be highly appreciated.
>

I'm currently working on migrating the Mac specific code to the 2.80
release. The Mac version of the IDL compiler is currently in a holding
pattern pending Metrowerks updating their compiler plugin doco.

If you need any other information about the Mac version, please do not
hesitate to ask.

Regards,

Stephen Coy
Resolve Software