Using Events and Callbacks to Enable Long-Running Operations

BEA Workshop for WebLogic Platform provides tools that make it easy for you to build asynchronous web services and custom controls. This section introduces the basic concepts of asynchronous computing with Workshop for WebLogic.

Note that WebLogic Platform supports three different technologies related to asynchronous computing. These technologies are described below.

(1) Beehive-based Control Events

Control events are part of the Beehive control framework. Control events provide a simplified, flexible model for controls and control clients to trigger and handle events. They can be used to expose different types of events, including local events (from sources inside the same application) and those that may come from an external source such as a web service callback.

(2) Web Service Callbacks

WebLogic Server provides a simplified development model for building web service callbacks. When using callbacks, both the client and the target service must be set up to understand the callback mechanism.

The Workshop for WebLogic service control provides support for clients wishing to communicate with a service that exposes callbacks. With this control, callback from a target service are exposed as Beehive control events to the client of the service control.

(3) WebLogic Server Asynchronous Request-Response:

WebLogic Server asynchronous request-response provides a way for web service clients to asynchronously invoke any web service, whether or not the target web service is designed for asynchronous invocation. Asynchronous request-response gives the client a way to wait for a response from the web service without having to stops its other processes. Asynchronous request-response requires that the client be running on WebLogic Server.

The topics below describe only (1) Beehive-based control events and (2) web service callbacks. For information on WebLogic Server Asynchronous Request-Response see Invoking a Web Service Using Asynchronous Request-Response in the WebLogic Server documentation.

Topics Included in This Section

Web Service Callbacks

Introduces callbacks for web services, and explains when and how to implement them.

Introduction to Control Events

Introduces control events supported by the Beehive controls framework.

Using Buffering to with Web Service Callbacks and Control Events

Explains how buffering methods can help your web services and controls handle high-volume loads.