IDLtype

IDLtype is a term used to describe any data type defined within an Interface Definition Language (IDL). In distributed systems, an IDLtype specifies the values that can be exchanged through interfaces, providing a language-neutral contract between components implemented in different programming languages.

IDL defines how these types are declared and used in interface definitions. Types describe the directions of data flow (in, out, inout) for operation parameters and return values, and they form the building blocks for the data structures that are shared across system boundaries. The IDLtype concept underpins the interoperability goals of IDL-based communication, enabling consistent data representation across heterogeneous environments.

Common IDLtypes include primitive types such as booleans and numeric types, character and string types, and built-in special types. They also cover composite constructs such as structures, unions, enums, arrays, and sequences, as well as typedefs that create aliases for existing types. Many IDLs also support user-defined interface types and object references, enabling polymorphic interfaces across languages.

Code generated from IDL definitions translates IDLtypes into equivalent types in target languages, enabling cross-language interoperability. While IDLtype terminology may not be a formal category in every IDL family, the concept remains central to interface contracts in middleware technologies such as CORBA and related standards. Example: interface Example { void do_something(in long id); }; typedef long ID; struct Person { string name; long age; }; sequence<short> scores; };