DOA 2005 PC co-chairs’ message

Welcome to the Proceedings of the 2005 International Conference on Distributed Objects and Applications (DOA). Some of the world’s most important and critical software systems are based on distribution technologies. For example, distributed objects run critical systems in industries such as telecommunication, manufacturing, finance, insurance, and government. When a phone call is made or a financial transaction performed, chances are that distributed objects are acting in the background. Although existing distribution technologies, such as CORBA, DCOM and Java-based technologies have been widely successful, they are still evolving and serving as the basis for emerging technologies and standards, such as CORBA Components, J2EE, .NET, and Web Services. Regardless of the specifics of each approach, they all aim to provide openness, reliability, scalability, distribution transparency, security, ease of development, and support for heterogeneity between applications and platforms. Also, of utmost importance today is the ability to integrate distributed object systems with other technologies such as the web, multimedia systems, databases, message-oriented middleware, the Global Information Grid, and peer-to-peer systems. However, significant research and development continues to be required in all of these areas in order to continue to advance the state of the art and broaden the scope of the applicability of distribution technologies.