The Object Request Broker (ORB)

CORBA uses a broker, or intermediary, to handle requests between clients and servers in the system. The broker chooses the best server to meet the client's request and separates the interface that the client sees from the implementation of the server.

The broker, known as the ORB, intercepts client method calls and is responsible for finding objects that can implement requests, passing them parameters, invoking their methods, and returning results. The client does not need to know where the object is located, its programming language, its operating system, or any other system aspects that are not part of the object's interface.

In this way, the ORB provides interoperability between applications on different machines in heterogeneous distributed environments, and interconnects multiple object systems.

The CICS® ORB implements the following level of function:
ORB function is implemented in CICS by: