Summary

In this chapter, we explored many of the factors that impact network interoperability. At a low-level, the byte order becomes important. We learned that systems either use a big endian or a little endian byte order. The order can be determined and controlled by Java applications. Network communication normally uses big endian when transferring data.

If we need to communicate with other languages, we found that JVM-based languages are easier to work with because they share the same byte code base. If we need to work with other languages, then JNI is commonly used.

A socket is not a Java-unique concept. It normally is used in a TCP/IP environment, which implies that a socket that is written in one language can easily communicate with a socket that is written in a different language. We demonstrated this ability using a Java server and a C# client.

We also explored how middleware can support interoperability by abstracting much of the low-level communication detail. Using concepts, such...