In this paper, we describe a software mechanism, a software channel, that allows a group of distributed objects to communicate with each other automatically once they are connected to it. Software channels and predesigned distributed objects that are connected to them encapsulate the communication protocol and the network topology to allow distributed applications to be constructed by distributed structural object composition. Software channels thus can reduce the implementation cost of distributed applications that use such components as shared text areas, shared whiteboards, audio and video delivery subsystems, and remote monitoring subsystems.Key Words and Phrases: software channel, distributed structural object composition,
peer-to-peer communication, client-server communication, session manager, session port, Java.**1996 best estimate for issue date and commencement year based on available information.*
