Middleware first gained popularity in the 1980s. Deploying middleware then allowed new applications and services to access older legacy back-end systems. This allowed developers to ensure that new interfaces are capable of receiving data from older back-end technology.
Sometimes referred to as “software glue”, middleware continues to be used today, as software that mediates between two separate pieces of software. It underpins the architecture philosophy on the backend and allows an operating system to communicate with applications.
Today’s middleware is less about connecting to legacy systems and more about overall access and communication. Let’s take a look.
What is middleware?
Middleware is software that acts as an intermediate between the backend and the front end. It is a runner between the two platforms that allow users to access otherwise inaccessible functionality. For example:
- Middleware may run between a Windows machine and a Linux back-end.
- Middleware could be the piece that allows enterprise employees to use remote applications.
Middleware can be easily understood as the “to” in phrases like peer-to-peer—it is middleware software that enables the data to travel.
Middleware is also important for application development and delivery. By understand the operating systems that a company uses to underpin its operations, a software developer can account for the way in which an application will be distributed.
How middleware works
Allowing applications to communicate through middleware means greater longevity of the operating system architecture, thanks to integration middleware aiding with communication.
Various types of middleware are necessary for performing the functions we expect of the applications that we use in business and personal settings. In fact, they are far more common than most people realize.
For example, Android users rely on middleware every time they use any phone application. The Android operating system is built on a modified Linux kernel, so developers need to build the application with the need to communicate with Linux in mind.
Linux needs to communicate with an app, but it needs to use the Android OS as middleware in order to successfully do so. As you can see, the request from the application needs to communicate with the back end. In order to do that, the Android operating system will:
- Send the request back.
- Receive the data in response.
- Transform the data for the application.
