ISO Reference Model of Open Distributed Processing: An Informal Introduction

by Haim Kilov, Michael Guttman

For nearly a decade, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has been developing a comprehensive standard for specifying distributed processing systems. This standard, the Reference Model of Open Distributed Processing (RM-ODP), describes the foundations of distributed processing, including key definitions of terminology and an overall architectural framework. Although RM-ODP has not yet garnered the mass-market recognition of, say, the Object Management Group's (OMG) CORBA, it is already in use worldwide, most often as the conceptual foundation for other standards, including CORBA itself.