common object request broker architecture (CORBA)

Software infrastructure (middleware) that allows programs and machines from practically any vendor to work together and exchange data. CORBA-compatible programs (irrespective of the publisher, language, or operating system) can interoperate across any network or size of computer from mainframes to handheld computers. It is an open (vendor-independent) standard maintained and continually upgraded by a consortium of leading computer industry firms called object management group (OMG).