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IBM System Object Model
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<p>The System Object Model (SOM) is an <a href="/facts/Object-oriented_programming/TxNMEcao">object-oriented</a> <a href="/facts/Shared_library/xRzL3P7q">shared library</a> technology developed by <a href="/facts/IBM/QszA7nwd">IBM</a> that supports defining an <a href="/facts/Interface_(computing)/zdfp8unT">interface</a> to an <a href="/facts/Object_(computer_science)/eX99dtAw">object</a> so that its interface is separate from its <a href="/facts/Implementation/IH1KXgP3">implementation</a>. </p><p>DSOM, a <a href="/facts/Distributed_computing/o5nyhqTF">distributed</a> variant based on <a href="/facts/CORBA/VUDlTHs5">CORBA</a>, allowed objects on different computers to communicate. </p><p>A SOM library can be updated without requiring client code to be rebuilt. If a library is changed to add new classes or methods, or to change the internal implementation of classes or methods, a consuming program can still use it without being rebuilt. In this way, SOM addresses the <a href="/facts/Fragile_binary_interface_problem/oV3zweJ8">fragile binary interface problem</a> that affects other library technology such as <a href="/facts/C%252B%252B/Et0F2qn9">C++</a>. </p><p>SOM allows <a href="/facts/Class_(computer_science)/zvzkSAtE">classes</a> to be defined in one <a href="/facts/Programming_language/cWTYbgWa">programming language</a> and used in another. A client can create and use objects from the exposed classes and derive subclasses from the exposed classes even if the client language does not support class typing. </p><p>SOM provides an <a href="/facts/Application_programming_interface/GMlN4vUr">application programming interface</a> (API) that provides access to library <a href="/facts/Metadata/qt35z79C">metadata</a>. Each object exposes methods that provide the class name and whether the object implements a particular method, for example. </p>