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Siebel COM Interfaces

Siebel COM object interfaces can be accessed in four ways: COM Data Control, COM Data Server, Siebel Web Client Automation Server, and Siebel Mobile Web Client Automation Server.

The supported languages for accessing Siebel COM interfaces are JavaScript, Visual Basic, and C++. The Perl language is not supported with Siebel COM interfaces.

NOTE:  The programming environment you use may impose limitations on the functionality of COM servers. For example, code using the Data Server written in VB should not be implemented as a Windows NT service.

COM Data Control

The Siebel COM Data Control interfaces allow external applications to access Siebel business objects remotely.

To develop an application using the Siebel COM Data Control, you must have a Siebel Application Object Manager set up and running on a Siebel Server. Refer to Siebel System Administration Guide for information about installing and configuring the Siebel Object Manager.

Any external application or component that uses Siebel COM Data Control connects and communicates with Siebel Application Object Manager using the Siebel Internet Session Network API (SISNAPI) protocol. The Siebel Application Object Manager, which could be running on a remote Siebel Server, is a multithreaded, multiprocess application server that hosts Siebel business objects and supports session-based connections by clients.

For information on the SISNAPI protocol, see Siebel Deployment Planning Guide.

Figure 1 shows how external applications use Siebel COM Data Control to communicate with the Siebel application.

Figure 1. Siebel COM Data Control

COM Data Server

Figure 2 shows how external applications use Siebel COM Data Server without having to access the user interface objects. COM Data Server uses the same mechanism as the Mobile Web Client to connect to the server database.

Figure 2. Siebel COM Data Server

You can expect differences in performance between Siebel COM Data Server and Siebel Mobile Web Client Automation Server. This is due in part to the fact that COM Data Server is a DLL running in the same address space as the calling program, while Automation Server is an executable that runs in its own address space. DLLs that are accessed by a server task must be thread safe.

Siebel Web Client Automation Server

The Web Client Automation Server is implemented as a small COM object resident within the Web browser (IE 5.0 or greater). The Web Client Automation Server is supported with the High Interactivity client only. When accessing the Web Client Automation Server, Siebel Web Client must be running.

To enable the Web Client Automation Server, make sure that the EnableWebClientAutomation parameter is set to TRUE for the Application Object Manager. With this parameter set to TRUE, a small ActiveX Control downloads to the desktop and the SiebelHTMLApplication process starts.

In the Windows Task Manager, this process is named one of the following:

• siebelhtml.exe
• siebelhtmlapplication.exe
• SIEBEL~1.EXE

This process terminates when the Siebel Web Client is gracefully terminated. You may need to modify the ActiveX controls and plug-ins security settings in the Browser to use the Web Client Automation Server.

Figure 3 shows how external applications can invoke business services and manipulate property sets in the Siebel Web Client Automation Server.

Figure 3. Siebel Web Client Automation Server

Siebel Mobile Web Client Automation Server

When accessing the Mobile Web Client Automation Server, Siebel Mobile Web Client must be running. Figure 4 shows how the Siebel Mobile Web Client Automation Server is used by external applications to control the Siebel application.

Figure 4. Siebel Mobile Web Client Automation Server