TANGO is an object oriented control system for Linux and Windows. It provides a framework in C++, Java and Python for implementing distributed control objects an accessing them via a well-defined API.
This sourceforge project a
A framework for Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) with plugin architecture for both protocol implementation (XMLRPC, etc) and network transport (HTTP, SMTP, etc.)
Antidote for C++'s Fragile Base Class problem (fully reviseable shared libraries/frameworks/plugin architectures) as well as Interface Repository/Object Adapter (queries on class properties, invoke methods programmatically from foreign code and gateways.)