Rogue Wave framework opens SOAP to C++ gurus -- ADTmag

Rogue Wave framework opens SOAP to C++ gurus

By Jack Vaughan
March 17, 2003

[MARCH 18, 2003/ADT'S PROGRAMMERS REPORT] - C++ developers are among programming's hot-rodders. Embedded programmers would take issue, but, compared to many, C++ crewmembers have their feet to the floor pushing the metal.

Still, the C++ community is not always involved when discussions turn to some of the emerging technology of the day, such as SOAP and Web services. Software development mainstay Rogue Wave hopes to address that issue with a new development platform that lets C++ developers do what they do well, while working with higher-level programming interfaces.

Using Rogue Wave's Lightweight Enterprise Integration Framework (LEIF), developers can build C++ applications that interoperate nicely with many different middleware solutions.

"SOAP has largely been done on Java," said Tim Triemstra, product marketing manager, Rogue Wave. "But there is no reason C++ cannot deal with high-level concepts such as service-oriented architecture [SOA], which is something Web services fit into real well."

With LEIF, "you can expose your C++ [code as] services over a network, much like as in .NET," said Triemstra. In effect, you can have functions in C++ interact with other code more broadly, without buying into a specific platform.

The framework is built on Rogue Wave's Bobcat C servlet container, which also brings notions (servlets, for example) now familiar in Java to C++.

Such software can help application teams building high-performance Web applications. These teams may have skilled C++ hands who can now take advantage of Web services without learning a whole new set of languages and concepts.