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Programming Stand-alone Clients

# WebLogic JMS Thin Client

The following sections describe how to deploy and use the WebLogic JMS thin client:

- Overview of the JMS Thin Client
- JMS Thin Client Functionality
- Limitations of Using the JMS Thin Client
- Deploying the JMS Thin Client

# Overview of the JMS Thin Client

The JMS thin client (the `wljmsclient.jar` deployed with the `wlclient.jar)`, provides J2EE and WebLogic JMS functionality using a much smaller client footprint than the full WebLogic JAR. The smaller footprint is obtained by using:

- A client-side library that contains only the set of supporting files required by client-side programs.
- The RMI-IIOP protocol stack available in the JRE. RMI requests are handled by the JRE, enabling a significantly smaller client.
- Standard J2EE APIs, rather than WebLogic Server APIs.

For more information on developing WebLogic Server thin client applications, see Developing a J2EE Application Client (Thin Client).

# JMS Thin Client Functionality

Although much smaller in size than the full WebLogic JAR, the JMS thin client (the `wljmsclient.jar` and `wlclient.jar`) provide the following functionality to client applications and applets:

- Full WebLogic JMS functionality—both standard JMS and WebLogic extensions—except for client-side XML selection for multicast sessions and the JMSHelper class methods
- EJB (Enterprise Java Bean) access
- JNDI access
- RMI access (indirectly used by JMS)
- SSL access (using JSSE in the JRE )
- Transaction capability
- Clustering capability
- HTTP/HTTPS tunneling
- Fully internationalized

# Limitations of Using the JMS Thin Client

The following limitations apply to the JMS thin client:

- It does not provide the JDBC or JMX functionality of the normal `weblogic.jar` file.
- It does not inter-operate with WebLogic Server 7.0 or earlier.
- It is only supported by the JDK ORB.
- It has lower performance than the thick client, especially with non-persistent messaging.

# Deploying the JMS Thin Client

The `wljmsclient.jar` and `wlclient.jar` are located in the `WL_HOME``\server\lib` subdirectory of the WebLogic Server installation directory, where `WL_HOME` is the top-level installation directory for the entire WebLogic Platform (for example, `c:\bea\weblogic90\server\lib`).

Deployment of the JMS thin client depends on the following requirements:

- The JMS thin client requires the standard thin client, which contains the base client support for clustering, security, and transactions. Therefore, the `wljmsclient.jar` and the `wlclient.jar` must be installed somewhere on the client's file system. However, `wljmsclient.jar` has a reference to `wlclient.jar` so it is only necessary to put one or the other Jar in the client's `CLASSPATH`.
- RMI-IIOP is required for client-server communication.

- URLs using `t3` or `t3s` will transparently use `iiop` or `iiops`
- URLs using `http` or `https` will transparently use `iiop` tunneling.

- To facilitate the use of IIOP, always specify a valid IP address or DNS name for the Listen Address attribute to listen for connections.

Note: The Listen Address default value of `null` allows it to "listen on all configured network interfaces". However, this feature only works with the T3 protocol. If you need to configure multiple listen addresses for use with the IIOP protocol, then use the Network Channel feature, as described in "Configuring Network Resources" in Configuring WebLogic Server Environments.

- Each client must have the JRE 1.4.n or higher installed.
- Applications must adhere to J2EE programming guidelines, in particular the use of `PortableRemoteObject.narrow()` rather than using casts.

For more information on developing thin client applications for WebLogic Server, see Developing a J2EE Application Client (Thin Client).