Two layer middleware architecture with an intermediate target independent interface

摘要

An innovative middleware architecture for interfacing between a user Application Programming Interface (API) (12) and a target API (16) comprised of two layers with an Intermediate Target Independent Interface (34). This architecture divides the middleware into two separate and distinct layers separated by an Intermediate Target Independent Interface (ITII). The front-end layer (32) maps the user API (12) to the ITII (34), and then the backend layer (36) maps the ITII (34) to the target API (16). In the preferred embodiment, the implementation of each layer would be via a software library, although each library can be divided into sub-libraries. The key feature is the ITII. The ITII defines the fixed interface between the front end of the middleware and the backend of middleware. Each layer will translate between ITII and the other interface while handling various issues associated with that translation. Such issues include initialization, error handling, and programming language differences.