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The overall aim of the course is to provide students with an in-depth appreciation of the range of modern middleware technologies, with emphasis on recent developments in areas such as multimedia, mobility and ubiquitous computing.

More specifically, the course has the following key objectives:

1. To introduce the fundamental concepts underpinning modern middleware platforms, including distributed objects and component-based software development;
2. To introduce the range of middleware platforms and technologies available both in the market-place, and also under development in R&D labs;
3. To provide an in-depth understanding of platforms such as EJB, CORBA and .NET, including the ability to program such platforms;
4. To understand the role of middleware platforms in modern Internet based solutions (web-services, the role of XML, ...).
5. To provide sufficient background in distributed multimedia and ubiquitous computing to appreciate the impact on future middleware platforms;
6. To enable students to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different technologies, particularly in the face of the emerging challenges (multimedia, real-time and mobility);
7. To provide an introduction to the usage of reflection and aspect oriented programming in middleware, and it's potential in terms of offering more configurable and re-configurable software solutions.

The compulsory coursework for the seminar on middleware consists of two parts:

1. Programming exercises
2. Participation and contribution in presentation sessions