posted 20 years ago
We usually associate middleware with connectivity. IBM's MQ Series carries messages from one machine to another, other products connect to databases where there is no native driver, or to mainframe CICS or telephony systems or what have you.
If you layer architectures from the application specific down to the most generic, middleware is, um, in the middle. Definitely below the business-specific layer, so that a given middleware product could be used in any busines domain.
A good question is never answered. It is not a bolt to be tightened into place but a seed to be planted and to bear more seed toward the hope of greening the landscape of the idea. John Ciardi