ISO/IEC 19516:2020

Information technology — Object management group — Interface definition language (IDL) 4.2

This International Standard specifies the OMG Interface Definition Language (IDL). IDL is a descriptive language used to define data types and interfaces in a way that is independent of the programming language or operating system/processor platform. The IDL specifies only the syntax used to define the data types and interfaces. It is normally used in connection with other standards that further define how these types/interfaces are utilized in specific contexts and platforms: ? Separate "language mapping" standards define how the IDL-defined constructs map to specific programming languages, such as, C/C++, Java, C#, etc. ? Separate "serialization" standards define how data objects and method invocations are serialized into a format suitable for network transmission. ? Separate "middleware" standards, such as, DDS or CORBA leverage the IDL to define data-types, services, and interfaces. The description of IDL grammar uses a syntax notation that is similar to Extended Backus-Naur Format (EBNF).

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General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 18-Feb-2020
• ICS: 35.060 - Languages used in information technology
• Technical Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1 - Information technology
• Drafting Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1 - Information technology
• Current Stage: 9020 - International Standard under periodical review
• Start Date: 15-Jan-2025
• Due Date: 15-Jan-2025
• Completion Date: 15-Jan-2025

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 19516
First edition
2020-02
Information technology — Object
management group — Interface
definition language (IDL) 4.2
Reference number
©
ISO/IEC 2020
© ISO/IEC 2020
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting
on the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address
below or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
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Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO/IEC 2020 – All rights reserved

Contents
Foreword . v
Introduction . v
1 Scope . 1
1.1 Overview . 1
2 Conformance Criteria . 1
3 Normative References . 2
4 Terms and Definitions . 2
5 Symbols . 2
6 Additional Information . 3
6.1 Acknowledgments . 3
6.2 History . 3
7 IDL Syntax and Semantics . 4
7.1 Overview . 4
7.2 Lexical Conventions . 5
7.2.1 Tokens . 8
7.2.2 Comments . 8
7.2.3 Identifiers . 8
7.2.4 Keywords . 9
7.2.5 Other Characters Recognized by IDL . 10
7.2.6 Literals . 11
7.3 Preprocessing . 13
7.4 IDL Grammar . 13
7.4.1 Building Block Core Data Types . 14
7.4.2 Building Block Any . 30
7.4.3 Building Block Interfaces — Basic . 31
7.4.4 Building Block Interfaces — Full . 37
7.4.5 Building Block Value Types . 39
7.4.6 Building Block CORBA-Specific — Interfaces . 42
7.4.7 Building Block CORBA-Specific — Value Types . 48
7.4.8 Building Block Components — Basic . 53
7.4.9 Building Block Components — Homes . 56
7.4.10 Building Block CCM-Specific . 59
7.4.11 Building Block Components — Ports and Connectors . 64
7.4.12 Building Block Template Modules . 67
7.4.13 Building Block Extended Data-Types . 70
7.4.14 Building Block Anonymous Types . 76
7.4.15 Building Block Annotations . 77
7.4.16 Relationships between the Building Blocks . 80
7.5 Names and Scoping . 81
7.5.1 Qualified Names . 81
7.5.2 Scoping Rules and Name Resolution . 82
7.5.3 Special Scoping Rules for Type Names . 84
8 Standardized Annotations . 86
8.1 Overview . 86
8.2 Introduction . 86
8.2.1 Rules for Defining Standardized Annotations . 86
8.2.2 Rules for Using Standardized Annotations . 86
8.3 Standardized Groups of Annotations . 86
8.3.1 Group of Annotations General Purpose . 86
8.3.2 Group of Annotations Data Modeling . 89
© ISO/IEC 2020 – All rights reserved iii

8.3.3 Group of Annotations: Units and Ranges . 89
8.3.4 Group of Annotations Data Implementation . 91
8.3.5 Group of Annotations Code Generation . 91
8.3.6 Group of Annotations Interfaces . 92
9 Profiles . 93
9.1 Overview . 93
9.2 CORBA and CCM Profiles . 93
9.2.1 Plain CORBA Profile . 93
9.2.2 Minimum CORBA Profile . 94
9.2.3 CCM Profile . 94
9.2.4 CCM with Generic Interaction Support Profile . 94
9.3 DDS Profiles . 95
9.3.1 Plain DDS Profile . 95
9.3.2 Extensible DDS Profile . 95
9.3.3 RPC over DDS Profile . 95
Annex A Consolidated IDL Grammar . 97
iv © ISO/IEC 2020 – All rights reserved

Foreword
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the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of ISO or IEC participate in the
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work.
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ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of document should
be noted (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. ISO
and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of any patent rights identified
during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations received
www.iso.org/patents) or the IEC list of patent declarations received (see http://patents.iec.ch).
(see
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an
endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to
conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles
in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by the Object Management Group (OMG) (as the OMG specification for Interface
Definition Language (IDL), v4.2) and drafted in accordance with its editorial rules. It was adopted, under the JTC 1 PAS
procedure, by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology.
This document is related to:
• ITU-T Recommendation X.902 (1995) | ISO/IEC 10746-2:1995, Information Technology — Open Distributed
Processing — Reference Model: Foundations
• ITU-T Recommendation X.903 (1995) | ISO/IEC 10746-3:1995,
...