MQ Overview

Middleware Background

What is Middleware?
Many definitions exist, many of them are more or less correct. The problem is that the word “Middleware” is somewhat overused and as a result has been applied to just about every piece of systems software ever written. Here’s one definition:

“Middleware is a general term for any piece of software that serves to ‘glue together’, mediate between, or enhance separate existing programs.”
As you can see, even that definition covers a huge range of applications.

Here’s another definition:
“Middleware is software that is used to move data from one program to another, shielding the developer from dependencies on communications protocols, operating systems and hardware platforms.”
For a while, attempts have been made to categorise the different types of middleware. It’s not always clear what category a product fits in to as vendors are always introducing new functionality, or include support for more than one category of middleware within a product. BEA’s Tuxedo for example, includes transaction processing and message queuing services via the product’s API (Application Programming Interface). Having said that, middleware products tend to fall in to one of the following categories: