Computer Dictionary of Information Technology

Object Request Broker

(ORB) Part of the OMG CORBA specification, an ORB's basic function is to pass method invocation requests to the correct objects and return the results to the caller.

To achieve this the ORB must be able must be able to identify and locate objects, handle connections from invoker and the data returned from methods. Communication between the ORB and applications are achieved through IDL stubs and skeletons whilst the OMG has specified IIOP as the protocol through which ORBs may communicate with each other. Using IIOP, an ORB may request method invocations from a remote object.