Open Distributed Systems

This text provides an introduction to the principles and practice of distributed computing systems and their application with the use of open standards. The essential characteristic of a distributed system is that it is made up of multiple components which are themselves computer systems. This makes the system not only more powerful than a stand-alone but necessarily more complex. This textbook attempts to guide the reader through the techniques and mechanisms which optimize the performance advantages of distributed systems while mitigating the disadvantages introduced by this increased complexity. The authors use the object-oriented paradigm for description throughout the book and assume some knowledge of communications architecture and high level programming abstractions. While the emphasis is on "open" distributed systems ("odp"), this is not a text about the technical aspects of developing these standards but about the underlying principles and the approaches necessary to implement them in an open distributed system. Particular emphasis is placed on management and security aspects. The book is a self-contained text for those who have completed a first course in computer communications, operating systems and programming. It provides an understanding of the highly challenging and complex world of "odp" and should be suitable for an advanced undergraduate or beginning postgraduate, as well as computing professionals.