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About the Siebel COM Object Interface

You can access a Siebel COM object interface in any of the following ways:

• COM Data Control
• COM Data Server
• Web Client Automation Server
• Mobile Web Client Automation Server

You can use any of the following languages to access a Siebel COM interface:

• JavaScript
• Visual Basic
• C++

You cannot use the Perl programming language to access a Siebel COM interface.

The programming environment you use might limit the features that Siebel CRM can use the Siebel COM servers. For example, do not use Siebel VB code for the Data Server as a Windows NT service.

How an External Application Communicates with a Siebel Application

COM Data Control is a type of Siebel Object Interface that allows an external application to connect and communicate with the Siebel Application Object Manager, which is a multithreaded, multiprocess application server that hosts Siebel business objects and allows session connections with Siebel clients. This connection allows the external application to access Siebel business objects. The Siebel Internet Session Network API (SISNAPI) protocol allows this communication.

Figure 1 illustrates how an external application uses COM Data Control to communicate with the Siebel application.

Figure 1. How an External Application Uses COM Data Control

To use COM Data Control to develop a Siebel application, you must install, configure, and make sure Siebel CRM is running a Siebel Application Object Manager on a Siebel Server. For more information, see Siebel System Administration Guide.

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

Servers That the Siebel COM Interface Uses

This topic describes the servers that the Siebel COM Interface uses.

Web Client Automation Server

The Web Client Automation Server does the following:

• Allows an external application to call a business service and manipulate property sets.
• Runs as a small Siebel COM object in the Web browser in Internet Explorer version 5.0 or later.
• Can be used with the Siebel Web Client and the Siebel Mobile Web Client.

Figure 2 illustrates how an external application can call a business service and manipulate a property set that resides on the Web Client Automation Server.

Figure 2. How an External Application Interacts with the Web Client Automation Server

The Web Client Automation Server includes the following requirements:

• Runs only with a high interactivity client.
• The Siebel Web Client must be running.
• You must set the EnableWebClientAutomation parameter for the Application Object Manager to TRUE. This setting configures Siebel CRM to download a small ActiveX control to the desktop and start the SiebelHTMLApplication process.
• It might be necessary for you to adjust ActiveX controls, plug-ins, and security settings in the browser.

You cannot configure Siebel CRM to call the Web Client Automation Server directly from an active instance of a Siebel application.

Siebel CRM uses one of the following names for the process that represents the Web Client Automation Server. The Windows Task Manager displays this name:

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

If the user ends the Siebel Web Client session, then Siebel CRM stops this process.

For more information, see Accessing the Web Client Automation Server.

Mobile Web Client Automation Server

The Mobile Web Client Automation Server accesses the server object that the Siebel application starts. If your configuration can access this object, then it can get other Siebel objects and run Siebel object interface methods through these other objects.

Figure 3 illustrates how an external application can control a Siebel application that uses the Web Client Automation Server.

Figure 3. How External Applications Can Control a Siebel Application That Uses the Web Client Automation Server

The Mobile Web Client Automation Server includes the following requirements:

• The Siebel Mobile Web Client must be running.
• The EnableWebClientAutomation parameter that resides in the InfraUIFramework section of the Siebel application configuration (CFG) file must be set to TRUE.
• If you use Microsoft Visual Basic version 5.0 or later, then the sobjsrv.tlb file must reside in the same folder where the Siebel application configuration (CFG) file resides. If this file does not reside in the correct folder, then the COM Data Server does not work.
• A call that you configure Siebel CRM to make to the Mobile Web Client Automation Server is out of process. If your customization creates a DLL that runs in process with the Siebel application, then the calls that Siebel CRM makes from the DLL to the Mobile Web Client Automation Server are out of process. For more information, see How Siebel CRM Uses Memory and Resources with the Mobile Web Client Automation Server.

For more information, see Accessing the Mobile Web Client Automation Server.

How Siebel CRM Uses Memory and Resources with the Mobile Web Client Automation Server

Siebel CRM starts a process to run the Siebel Mobile Web Client. This process uses memory and resources that are specific to this process, which are in process. If your configuration communicates with the Siebel Mobile Web Client while it is running, then the resources that Siebel CRM uses in this communication are separate form the memory and resources that it uses in the process that it started to run the Siebel Mobile Web Client. These separate resources are out of process.

COM Data Server

Figure 4 illustrates how an external application uses the COM Data Server that does not include user interface objects. The COM Data Server uses the same technology that the Siebel Mobile Web Client uses to connect to the Siebel database.

Figure 4. Siebel COM Data Server

The Mobile Web Client Automation Server includes the following requirements:

• The way your configuration starts a Siebel COM server depends on the programming tool or language you use.
• The COM Data Server runs without the Siebel client, so you must use the Login method to set up your Data Server object.
• No current active Siebel objects exist, so you cannot use an object interface method that returns active Siebel objects. You must use your own Siebel objects.
• If you use Microsoft Visual Basic version 5.0 or later, then the sobjsrv.tlb file must reside in the same folder as the Siebel application configuration (CFG) file. If this file does not reside in the correct folder, then the COM Data Server does not work.
• Do not run the Microsoft VB Debug environment while your configuration communicates with the COM Data Server.
• If your configuration uses the COM Data Server, then the COM client cannot create multiple connections to the Siebel COM Server. You must restart the COM client before you can attempt another connection. Use COM Data Control instead.
• Calls made to the COM Data Server are in process. For more information, see How Siebel CRM Uses Memory and Resources with the Mobile Web Client Automation Server.

Note the different ways that the following servers handle DLLs:

• COM Data Server. A DLL runs in the same address space where the calling program runs.
• Mobile Web Client Automation Server. An executable runs in a dedicated address space. A DLL that a server task accesses must be capable of running in a multithread environment.

For more information, see Accessing the COM Data Server.