Survey of Common Interfaces

It's instructive to consider some different kinds of non-application-specific interfaces.

• Non-network interfaces
  • Difficulties
    • Data integration may involve two or more computers that must communicate.
    • A data source that only has local interfaces may therefore require some integration software to be installed on the data source's computer
  • Examples
    • Writing to files on a local disk drive.
    • Displaying information on a local GUI only (i.e., MS Windows, not X).
• Network-capable interfaces

  Interfaces that allow an application to readily communicate with other applications that are either local or on a different computer.

  • Difficulties
    • Potentially independent failures of communication applications
    • Potentially significant communications costs / performance issues
  • Examples
    • FTP
    • CORBA
    • ODBC