 | Frequently Asked Questions |
The following is meant to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about Healthcare DTF as well as some anticipated questions by people unfamiliar with the OMG or CORBA.
Q: What is the OMG?A: "OMG" is an acronym standing for the Object Management Group. There is a short background on the OMG home page.
Q: What is CORBA?A: "CORBA" is another acronym. It stands for the Common Object Request Broker Architecture. This is the fundamental specification from the OMG for an object-oriented paradigm utilized in distributed communications.
The CORBA specification defines a mechanism for distributed computing where the computing entities (applications, etc.) are modeled as objects. Common object-oriented techniques are used to hide many aspects of the object in order to facilitate interoperability and portability. This includes hiding the type of CPU, type of operating system, networking protocols, and programming language of the object.
The key to CORBA is the Interface Definition Language (IDL). IDL is used to describe the interface to an application or the objects within an application in a programming language independent manner. IDL looks a lot like prototype definitions in C++ or interface definitions in Java. This facilitates easy learning if you already know one of these languages.
CORBA 1.0 was created in 1991. There were versions 1.1 and 1.2 as well. CORBA 2.0 added a number of things but most importantly interoperability (IIOP) between Object Request Brokers (ORBs) and a standard C++ interface.
Q: Why isn't the CORBA specification available electronically?A: The CORBA 2.2 specification is now available on the Web!
Q: Are there OMG documents that can be accessed by persons that are not OMG members?A: Yes! Here is the OMG's Public Document List. For questions regarding documents, send email to [email protected].
Q: What is Healthcare DTF?A: The Healthcare DTF started as the Healthcare SIG of the Object Management Group (OMG) in October 1994. In January 1996, the Healthcare DTF was voted to become a Domain Task Force (DTF) of the OMG. As a DTF, the Healthcare DTF works in the OMG process of adopting standard interfaces for doing business in the healthcare domain. The Healthcare DTF accomplished its first goal toward this end by issuing a Healthcare DTF Request For Information (RFI) in January. The RFI requested the healthcare and information technology industry to give the Healthcare DTF guidance in its up coming standardization efforts.
Q: Who are the members of Healthcare DTF?A: Since the Healthcare DTF is a Task Force of the OMG any member of the OMG and their invited guests are entitled to participate. As of May 1996 the OMG members number over 650 organizations and continues to grow. The attendees at the Healthcare DTF meetings include healthcare related product vendors, healthcare organizations and educational institutions. Guests are welcome to Healthcare DTF meetings upon prior notification so that two corporate members can give them an invitation (required by OMG rules).
Q: How do I become a Healthcare DTF member and how much does it cost?A: There are various membership categories depending on the level of involvement a member wishes. To obtain more information contact the OMG.
Q: When does Healthcare DTF meet?A: The Healthcare DTF meetings are co-located with the OMG Technical Committee meeting. They are usually held on Monday - Thursday.
Q: Is there a Healthcare DTF email list or newsgroup?A: The OMG maintains many lists (including one for healthcare) for conducting business by OMG members. There is also an independent Healthcare DTF majordomo. A newsgroup was formed in the spring of 1996 for CORBA too.
Q: Why should I become a member of the OMG?A: There are a number of reasons that different organizations join the OMG. One of the main reasons is to help drive the direction of standards in distributed computing. Another may be to keep abreast of current trends in distributed computing systems.
Q: What programming languages has IDL been mapped into?A: It would be difficult if not impossible to determine all the languages that IDL has been mapped to since anyone could create their own mapping to any programming language. However, the OMG has been adopting standard mapping to a number of languages. This includes C, Smalltalk, C++, and Ada. As of July 1996, there is work toward a standard mapping to both Cobol and Java. The Cobol mapping is being adopted via the RFP process. Sun Microsystems and other interested parties have announced they intend to submit a standard mapping to Java via the OMG's RFC (fast track) process.
Q: What is this OMG technology adoption process I keep hearing about?A: The OMG adopts standard technology via a process of Request For Proposal (RFP), or Request For Comment (RFC). Any technology adopted by the OMG requires the submitting companies to sign a Letter Of Intent (LOI) saying they will have a commercially available product based on the technology within one year of it becoming standard. In addition, they agree to freely license the interfaces to anyone that wants to use it. The descriptions below are simplified and should only be used as a very general guideline to the processes.
The RFP process involves an OMG task force requesting technology submissions in a particular area such as for a certain service or facility. After the submission deadline, the various submissions are evaluated by the task force. The submitters educate the task force and the competing submitters about their respective solutions. Task force members volunteer to write up and present their own evaluation as well.
There is a resubmission allowed where the submitters can change their submission to address concerns brought up during the evaluation. Many times by the resubmission deadline, the competing teams decide to work together via one merged submission as opposed to risking the chance of loosing against the competing technologies.
The RFC process is also called the 'fast track process'. If a company (or group of companies) has a technology they would like to become an OMG standard they can submit it via an RFC. There is a 90-day evaluation period where anyone (members or not) can comment on the submission. If there are significant negative comments then the RFC is rejected otherwise it passes.
Q: How does the OMG and Healthcare DTF relate to other standards organizations?A: The OMG is a consortium that uses an open process for standardization. This process is different from a standards organization for various reasons. One of the main reasons is due to the anti-trust laws that consortiums must live by.
For this reason the OMG cannot develop the technology that becomes standard. The fact that OMG isn't a development organization is actually its strength - it means that the consortium effectively uses the technical resources of all the members, rather than some small group seconded to a central organization. It also means that the members feel they have a direct influence on the way the specifications are developed. The OMG does adopt technology via a submission/evaluation process. The OMG has learned from problems encountered by other consortia in order to make a more effective technology adoption process.
Although OMG is separate from traditional standards organizations, it keeps close contact with the Healthcare Informatics Standards Board (HISB) of ANSI and the European healthcare standards organization CEN TC 251.
The OMG does have liaisons with many other standards organizations and consortia. The liaison is put into practice by members that attend meetings by both groups. Official liaison statements are often developed between the organizations. Membership exchanges are also used in order to allow members of one group attend meetings of the other.
The OMG has created a process that guarantees commercialization of the adopted technology by requiring the submitting company(s) to sign a statement to that affect. Standards organizations develop the technology themselves which normally does not guarantee there will be any implementations of that standard. The submitters also have to agree to license the technology openly and freely. The standards developed by standards organizations are also openly useable. Healthcare DTF is continuing the OMG tradition by actively seeking liaison relationships with many standards organizations and consortia.