Distributed architecture for the object-oriented method for interoperability

Abstract

The Department of Defense (DoD) is both challenged by the quest for interoperability and capable of the bottom-up development of a solution. The predominant method for achieving interoperability is the development of an intermediate representation that provides a common integration language or data model. An example is Young's Object-Oriented Method for Interoperability (OOMI), which produces a Federation Interoperability Object Model (FIOM) for the resolution of heterogeneities in representation and view of a real-world entity. An FIOM generates a standard for interoperability by associating the non-standard, component system data models into an extensible lattice, which captures translations that resolve data modeling differences. To support the bottom-up creation of an FIOM we; (1) describe a self-similar approach to data storage that allows generic data structures to be manageable, extensible and asynchronously populated, and (2) introduce a lattice concept for facilitating efficient and scalable object inheritance relationships. We assert that DoD's acquisition environment necessitates a distributed approach to solving the interoperability challenge. We present the description of a distributed software system to facilitate the collaborative construction of an FIOM within the existing DoD structure and provide an architecture to guide the development of such a distributed collaborative environment.