Traditional tracing mechanisms, usually developed for use in a single-computer environment,
are bound to a specific programming language. Today's highly distributed and heterogeneous
computing environments require new tracing methodologies. This paper addresses the
problem by reviewing ways in which the middleware might-and should-support tracing.
In particular, CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) meta-objects that
can be applied for tracing are studied. One meta-object, namely the interceptor concept,
is presented in more depth, followed by a detailed description of an interceptor-based
tracing architecture for CORBA applications. Implementation details and evaluation
experience are given. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.
