Distributed Proxy: A Design Pattern for Distributed Object Communication Ant\'{o}nio Rito Silva, Francisco Assis Rosa and Teresa Gon\c{c}alves Rito.Silva@inesc.pt, fjar@albertina.inesc.pt, tsg@albertina.inesc.pt Software Engineering Group INESC Rua Alves Redol 9, 5 Apartado 13069, 1000 Lisboa, Portugal TEL +351-1-3100287 Abstract: This paper presents the {\em Distributed Proxy pattern}, a design pattern for distributed object communication. Distributed object communication is hard due to the complexity inherent to distributed communication: specificities of the underlying communication mechanisms, protocols and platforms; and the diverse naming spaces where references have no meaning. The {\em Distributed Proxy pattern} decouples distributed object communication from object specific functionalities. It further decouples logical communication, where naming problems are dealt, from physical communication, where the distributed communication is implemented on top of the underlying communication mechanisms. The {\em Distributed Proxy pattern} enforces an incremental development process, encapsulates the underlying distribution mechanisms, and offers location transparency. Subject: Distribution Keywords: Distributed Communication, Incremental Software Development, Design Patterns