freeDEM
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AboutfreeDEM

freeDEM is a free-as-in-free-speech implementation of a process-based middleware. It's meant to be a powerful framework to manage server-side business processes, and automation tools; it's designed to be easy to use and to program with, without sacrificing anything in power, and a strong stress is put on performances.

freeDEM is built in Java, with OSGi technology. Full sources are provided, along with a complete distribution and documentation set, that enables a user to be productive in a short time.

freeDEM has already been successfully deployed in a number of production environments, and it's actively developed by Aton S.p.A. and partners to be the middleware solution for its customers.


Aton S.p.A. is the italian market leader in mobile software. Last year, it started a collaboration with the Torino Wireless Foundation to build a middleware software to use within its RFID installations and business layer software. freeDEM is the engine that powers these two middlewares; we feel that its structure, power and ease of use set it apart among other middleware solutions, so we decided to release it under a free license.

freeDEM is a process-based middleware framework. The user builds little process classes ("Processors") and assemble them in a process chain; a flow of asynchronous XML messages is thus possible. A strong emphasis is put on the services that the framework makes available to the processors, to ease the work of defining them; and almost every aspect of the flow can be configured via XML definitions, in order to separate the implementation from the application model.

freeDEM is released under the CDDL, and will always be free (both as in "for free" and as in "free speech"). We encourage willing people to participate actively in the project.


After almost a year of planning and development, we're proud to deliver the first version of freeDEM. We hope to build a strong community around it; the following are the original sponsors and actors of the project:

Aton S.p.A.

Torino Wireless Foundation

Bluendo