Enterprise JavaBeans, Fourth Edition

The Remote Client API

Enterprise bean developers are required to provide a bean class, component interfaces, and, for entity beans, a primary key. The component interfaces and primary key class are visible to the client; the bean class itself is not. The component interfaces and primary key contribute to the client-side API in EJB.

Any client, whether it is in the same container system or not, may use the Remote Client API, which means that it may use the remote interface, the remote home interface, and Java RMI to access entity and session beans. Enterprise beans that are located in the same EJB container have the option of using the Local Client API. The Local Client API provides local component interfaces and avoids the restrictions and overhead of the Remote Client API. This section examines the remote component interfaces and the primary key, as well as other Java types that make up EJB’s remote client-side API.

Java RMI-IIOP

Enterprise JavaBeans defines an enterprise bean’s remote client API in terms of Java RMI-IIOP, which enforces compliance with CORBA. This means that the underlying protocol used by remote clients to access enterprise beans can be anything the vendor wants as long as it supports the types of interfaces and arguments that are compatible with Java RMI-IIOP. However, in addition to any proprietary protocols, vendors must also support the CORBA IIOP 1.2 protocol as defined in the CORBA 2.3.1 specification.

To use the Remote Client API, define your component ...