Overview of Stand-alone Clients

In the context of this document, a stand-alone client is a client that has a runtime environment independent of WebLogic Server. (Managed clients, such as Web Services, rely on a server-side container to provide the runtime necessary to access a server.) Stand-alone clients that access WebLogic Server applications range from simple command line utilities that use standard I/O to highly interactive GUI applications built using the Java Swing/AWT classes. The following sections provide an overview:

RMI-IIOP Clients

IIOP can be a transport protocol for distributed applications with interfaces written in Java RMI. For more information, see:

For more information, see “ Using RMI over IIOP” in Programming WebLogic RMI.

BEA T3 (RMI) Clients

A T3 client is a Java RMI client that uses BEA’s proprietary T3 protocol to communicate with WebLogic Server. See:

CORBA Clients

If you are not working in a Java-only environment, you can use IIOP to connect your Java programs with Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) clients and execute CORBA objects. IIOP can be a transport protocol for distributed applications with interfaces written in Interface Definition Language (IDL) or Java RMI. However, the two models are distinctly different approaches to creating an interoperable environment between heterogeneous systems. When you program, you must decide to use either IDL or RMI interfaces; you cannot mix them.WebLogic Server supports the following CORBA client models:

JMX Clients

WebServices Clients

A stand-alone WebServices client uses WebLogic client classes to invoke a Web Service hosted on WebLogic Server or on other application servers. See Invoking a Web Service from a Stand-alone Client in Programming Web Services for WebLogic Server.

Client Types and Features

The following table lists the types of clients supported in a WebLogic Server environment, and their characteristics, features, and limitations.

Table 2-1 WebLogic Server Client Types and Features
Client	Type	Language	Protocol	Client Class Requirements	Key Features
Java EE Application Client (Thin Client) (Introduced in WebLogic Server 8.1)	RMI	Java	IIOP	`wlclient.jar` JDK 1.4 and higher	Supports WLS clustering. Supports many Java EE features, including security and transactions. Supports SSL. Uses CORBA 2.4 ORB. See Developing a Java EE Application Client (Thin Client).
JMS Thin Client (Introduced in WebLogic Server 8.1)	RMI	Java	IIOP	`wljmsclient.jar` `wlclient.jar` JDK 1.4 and higher	Thin client functionality WebLogic JMS, except for client-side XML selection for multicast sessions and JMSHelper class methods. See WebLogic JMS Thin Client.
JMS SAF Client	RMI	Java	IIOP	`wlsafclient.jar` `wljmsclient.jar` `wlclient.jar` JDK 1.4 and higher	Locally stores messages on the client and forwards them to server-side JMS destinations when the client is connected. See Reliably Sending Messages Using the JMS SAF Client.
T3	RMI	Java	T3	`wlfullclient.jar`	Supports WLS-Specific features. Fast, scalable. No CORBA inter-operability. See Developing T3 Clients.
J2SE	RMI	Java	IIOP	no WebLogic classes	Provides connectivity to WLS environment. Does not support WLS-specific features. Does not support many Java EE features. Uses CORBA 2.3 ORB. Requires use of `com.sun.jndi.cosnaming`. CNCtxFactory. See Developing a J2SE Client.
WLS-IIOP (Introduced in WebLogic Server 7.0)	RMI	Java	IIOP	`wlfullclient.jar`	Supports WLS-Specific features. Supports SSL. Fast, scalable. Not ORB-based. See Developing a WLS-IIOP Client.
JMX	RMI	Java	IIOP	wljmxclient.jar	See Accessing WebLogic Server MBeans with JMX.
WebServices	SOAP	Java	HTTP/S	`wseeclient.jar`	See Invoking a Web Service from a Stand-alone Client.
CORBA/IDL	CORBA	Languages that OMG IDL maps to, such as C++, C, Smalltalk, COBOL	IIOP	no WebLogic classes	Uses CORBA 2.3 ORB. Does not support WLS-specific features. Does not support Java. See Developing a CORBA/IDL Client.
C++ Client	CORBA	C++	IIOP	Tuxedo libraries	Interoperability between WLS applications and Tuxedo clients/services. Supports SSL. Uses CORBA 2.3 ORB. See Developing a WebLogic C++ Client for a Tuxedo ORB.
Tuxedo Server and Native CORBA client	CORBA or RMI	C++	Tuxedo- General- Inter-Orb-Protocol (TGIOP)	Tuxedo libraries	Interoperability between WLS applications and Tuxedo clients/services. Supports SSL and transactions. Uses CORBA 2.3 ORB. See Developing Clients for CORBA Objects.

WebLogic JarBuilder Tool

For WebLogic Server 10.0 and higher releases, client applications need to use the wlfullclient.jar file to provide the WebLogic Server specific functionary previously provided in the weblogic.jar file. You can generate the wlfullclient.jar file for client applications using the JarBuilder tool. See Using the WebLogic JarBuilder Tool.

Programming Stand-alone Clients