Dynamic reconfiguration of CORBA-based applications

Most current support for dynamic reconfiguration assumes that component interfaces specify input and output channels. Component models such as CORBA, however, support a client-server architecture, where component interfaces describe only the offered services. This work discusses the use of an interpreted language as a tool for dynamic configuration of distributed applications using CORBA components. We describe LuaOrb, a system based on the CORBA Dynamic Invocation Interface (DII) and the Dynamic Skeleton Interface (DSI), which provides Lua programs with easy access to CORBA servers and allows these servers to be dynamically modified. Using LuaOrb, the Lua console itself becomes a tool for reconfiguration. LuaOrb uses a structural sub-typing model, so that only correctly typed connections are accepted. We also discuss possible forms for prescribing a reconfiguration, and their relation to LuaOrb.