1. Developing Standalone Clients for Oracle WebLogic Server
  2. Overview of Standalone Clients

1 Overview of Standalone Clients

A standalone 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.) Standalone 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. Learn about types of clients, client features, and how clients are distributed.

Note:

The WebLogic Full client and thin IIOP clients are removed in WebLogic Server 14.1.1.0.0. Oracle recommends using the thin T3 client or the Install client instead.

Distributing Client JAR Files

Learn about license requirements when using client JARs and other resources provided in Oracle WebLogic Server for creating standalone clients.

See Standalone WebLogic Clients.

WebLogic T3 Clients

The WebLogic T3 clients are Java RMI clients that use Oracle T3 protocol to communicate with WebLogic Server. T3 clients outperform other client types and are the most recommended type of client.

WebLogic Thin T3 Client

The WebLogic Thin T3 Java client provides a light-weight alternative to the WebLogic Install client. This client provides the same performance as an install client, but uses a much smaller JAR file. The thin T3 client supports most of the use cases for which the install client can be used.

Note:

The WebLogic Full client and thin IIOP client are removed in WebLogic Server 14.1.1.0.0. Oracle recommends using the thin T3 client or the Install client instead.

The thin T3 client can be used in standalone applications, and is also designed for applications running on foreign (non-WebLogic) servers. One common use case is integration with WebLogic JMS destinations.

WebLogic Install Client

The WebLogic Install client is available in a full WebLogic Server installation. It uses the weblogic.jar file located at WL_HOME/server/lib and provides client-side support for all WebLogic Server-specific value-added features. It is the only client that supports server-side operations, such as:

  • Operations necessary for development purposes, such as the ejbc compiler.

  • Administrative operations, such as deployment.

  • WLST and client-side JSR 88 applications that invoke server-side operations.

Java IIOP

IIOP can be a transport protocol for distributed applications with interfaces written in Java RMI. When there is an option, Oracle recommends using T3 clients instead of IIOP clients.

An IIOP protocol Java client works with WebLogic Server 14.1.1.0.0 and later, only if all Java (remote and local) is at JDK8 or all Java is at JDK11, and also when:

  • The Java client is another WebLogic Server at any version for which overall interoperability is supported.

  • The Java client is a WebLogic Install client (weblogic.jar) at any version for which overall interoperability is supported.

  • The Java client is a WebLogic Full client (wlfullclient.jar), as long as the client is an earlier version of WebLogic Server than WLS 14.1.1.0.0. Note that wlfullclient.jar is removed in WLS 14.1.1.0.0.

  • The Java client with thin IIOP WebLogic client JARs (wlclient.jar), as long as the client is an earlier version of WebLogic Server than WLS 14.1.1.0.0. Note that wlclient.jar is removed in WLS 14.1.1.0.0.

For Java IIOP limitations, see Table 1-1.

For more information about interoperability, see Protocol Compatibility in Understanding Oracle WebLogic Server.

See also Using RMI over IIOP in Developing RMI Applications for Oracle WebLogic Server.

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

You can use a JMX client to access WebLogic Server MBeans.

See Accessing WebLogic Server MBeans With JMX in Developing Custom Management Utilities Using JMX for Oracle WebLogic Server.

JMS Clients

WebLogic Server provides a number of JMS clients that provide Java EE and WebLogic JMS functionality.

Tip:

Oracle WebLogic JMS clients require using the T3 protocol in all cases.

Web Services Clients

WebLogic Server provides a standalone Web Services clients that enable a Java SE client to invoke a Web Service hosted on WebLogic Server or on other application servers. These clients are listed in Table 1-1. For more information on use of these clients, see Invoking a Web Service from a Standalone Java SE Client in Developing JAX-RPC Web Services for Oracle WebLogic Server.

WebLogic Tuxedo Connector Clients

WebLogic Tuxedo Connector provides interoperability between WebLogic Server applications and Tuxedo services.

See:

Clients and Features

Learn about the types of clients and features supported in a WebLogic Server environment.

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

Note:

Oracle does not support combining clients to create extended feature sets. Select a client that best fits your environment and use only the client classes specified for that client type.

Table 1-1 WebLogic Server Client Types and Features

Client Type Language Protocol Client Class Requirements/Bundled Resources Key Features

WL Thin T3 Client

RMI

Java

T3

wlthint3client.jar

  • Small Footprint.

  • Oracle WebLogic Server T3/T3S protocol for Remote Method Invocation (RMI).

  • Supports WebLogic Server clustering.

  • Supports JSSE SSL, except with HTTP tunneling.

  • Faster and more scalable than IIOP clients.

  • Most WebLogic client JMS features, including the WebLogic Store-and-Forward (SAF) Service using the wlsaft3client.jar.

  • Supports most Java EE features.

  • See Developing a WebLogic Thin T3 Client.

Install Client

RMI

Java

IIOP

weblogic.jar

  • Supports JSSE SSL.

  • Supports most of the Java EE features, but does not support WebLogic client JMS.

  • Operations necessary for development purposes, such as the ejbc compiler.

  • Supports administrative operations, such as deployment.

  • Supports WLST and client-side JSR 88 applications that invoke server-side operations.

  • See WebLogic Install Client.

Install Client

RMI

Java

 T3

weblogic.jar

  • Supports Oracle WebLogic Server T3/T3S protocol for Remote Method Invocation (RMI), including HTTP Tunneling of T3/T3S.

  • Supports WebLogic Server clustering.

  • Supports JSSE SSL.

  • Faster and more scalable than IIOP clients.

  • All WebLogic client JMS features, including the WebLogic JMS client Store-and-Forward (SAF) Service.

  • Supports most of the Java EE features.

  • Supports operations necessary for development purposes, such as the ejbc compiler.

  • Supports administrative operations, such as deployment.

  • Supports WLST and client-side JSR 88 applications that invoke server-side operations.

  • See WebLogic Install Client.

CORBA/IDL

CORBA

Languages that OMG IDL maps to, such as C++, C, Smalltalk, COBOL

IIOP

No WebLogic classes

JMS SAF Client

(Introduced in WebLogic Server 9.2)

RMI

Java

T3

wlsaft3client.jar and wlthint3client.jar

JMS C Client

(Introduced in WebLogic Server 9.0)

JNI

C

T3

Any WebLogic JMS capable Java client, such as wlthint3client.jar

  • C client applications that can access WebLogic JMS applications and resources.

  • Supports SSL.

  • See WebLogic JMS C API

JMS .NET Client

(Introduced in WebLogic Server 10.3)

T3

.NET

T3

WebLogic.Messaging.dll dynamic library

WebLogic AQ JMS Client

(Introduced in WebLogic Server 10.3.1)

JNDI

Java

IIOP/T3 +

aqapi.jar, o6.jar, and orai18n.jar are required, plus either the weblogic.jar (Install client) or the wlthint3client.jar.

See Standalone WebLogic AQ JMS Clients in Administering JMS Resources for Oracle WebLogic Server.

Web Services

SOAP

Java

HTTP/S

com.oracle.webservices.wls.jaxws-wlswss-client.jar

See Invoking a Web Service from a Standalone Java SE Client in Developing JAX-WS Web Services for Oracle WebLogic Server.

C++ Client

CORBA

C++

IIOP

Tuxedo libraries

Tuxedo Server and Native CORBA client

CORBA or RMI

C++

Tuxedo-General-Inter-Orb-Protocol

(TGIOP)

Tuxedo libraries

RESTful Webservices Client

JAX-RS

Java

HTTP/S

jersey-client.jar

Supports JAX-RS client API.