A Java GUI for a C++ application - Is this a good design?

Question

Yes, I was a little surprised when an interviewer mentioned that they use a Java-swing GUI for a C/C++ application. I was curious and asked him how they actually integrate these together, his answer was "through messaging". Interesting! Well, I am new to this kind of approach and am curious if companies out there really use this kind of design. If yes, then is there a big advantage to this design? It's a bit difficult for me to comprehend how this design would work well, if you have any references please share.

FYI, the product is a data-backup based application (on a Linux/Unix platform possibly). Thank you.

CV

Answer 1

I see nothing wrong with it. It is very common to integrate different components through messaging. I do think its generally better to have a homogeneous environment (for example, all applications written in Java rather than Java and C++), however its often the case where you must integrate with legacy or 3rd-party components written in other languages, either for cost reasons or because there is no other choice.

Messaging is a common way to do this. I consider HTTP under the umbrella of "messaging", and nearly every language has an HTTP library - which makes it a good choice as a common messaging "language". When integrating a very heterogenous system there are dedicated tools/frameworks for not only integrating components, but also for integrating messaging systems (e.g. ESBs).