Binding Services and References

A JMS provider can be used as the transport for one-way and request-response operations. A minimal one-way configuration is shown below:

<component name="OneWayClient">
   <implementation.java class="..."/>
   <reference name="service">
      <binding.jms>
         <destination jndiName="serviceQueue"/>
      </binding.jms>
   </reference>
</component>

<component name="OneWayService">
   <implementation.java class="..."/>
   <service>
      <binding.jms>
         <destination jndiName="serviceQueue"/>
      </binding.jms>
   </service>
</component>

The above configuration uses the "serviceQueue" queue to propagate messages. Depending on the JMS provider, it may also be necessary to specify a connection factory name (see below).

Non-Blocking Operations

When writing asynchronous Java components, it is important to remember the @OneWay annotation. If a method is not marked with @OneWay, it will be taken as a request-response operation even if the return value is void. This means the operation will block until a response message is received.

Configuring request-response operations involves specifying a separate response queue in addition to the forward queue:

<component name="RequestResponseClient">
   <implementation.java class="..."/>
   <reference name="service">
      <binding.jms>
         <destination name="serviceQueue"/>
         <response>
            <destination jndiName="responseQueue"/>
         </response>
      </binding.jms>
   </reference>
</component>

<component name="RequestResponseService">
   <implementation.java class="..."/>
   <service>
      <binding.jms>
         <destination name="serviceQueue"/>
         <response>
            <destination jndiName="responseQueue"/>
         </response>
      </binding.jms>
   </service>
</component>

Using Callbacks

While JMS is an asynchronous model, it is important to note that the client component will block on request-response operations until a response is received. In some cases, this is the desired behavior. In other situations, such as long-running interactions, looser coupling is required where the client can continue processing without waiting for a response to be returned. Callbacks can be used to provide responses at some later point in time. Configuring callbacks involves specifying a callback queue:

<component name="CallbackClient">
   <implementation.java class="..."/>
   <reference name="service">
      <binding.jms>
         <destination name="serviceQueue"/>
      </binding.jms>
      <callback>
         <binding.jms>
            <destination name="callbackQueue"/>
         </binding.jms>
      </callback>
   </reference>
</component>

<component name="CallbackService">
   <implementation.java class="..."/>
   <service>
      <binding.jms>
         <destination name="serviceQueue"/>
      </binding.jms>
      <callback>
         <binding.jms>
            <destination name="callbackQueue"/>
         </binding.jms>
      </callback>
   </service>
</component>

When the CallbackClient invokes the CallbackService, the call will return immediately. At some later point in time, a reponse will be delivered asynchronously using the "callbackQueue" queue.

Specifying Connection Factories

The previous examples assumed the JMS provider did not require the connection factory to be specified for simplicity. However, most JMS providers will require the connection factory to be specified using the conectionFactory element:

<component name="CallbackClient">
   <implementation.java class="..."/>
   <reference name="service">
      <binding.jms>
         <connectionFactory jndiName="TheConnectionFactory"/>
         <destination name="serviceQueue"/>
      </binding.jms>
   </reference>
</component>

Dynamically Creating Queues

The JMS binding can also be configured to create queues dynamically by using the create attribute on the destination element and setting it to "ifnotexist" or "always".

Queues vs. Topics

By default, the JMS binding uses Queues to reference and service bindings. While it is possible to specify a Topic using the type="topic" attribute on the destination element, this should be avoided as doing so may have unintended effects. Specifically, if a service is clustered and bound to a topic, all service replicas in the zone will receive copies of an invocation message. With Queues, only one clustered service replica will receive a copy, which is in most cases the correct behavior for service interactions.

Wire Formats

The JMS binding supports multiple wire formats including object serialization, JMS message types, and JAXB serialization. If a parameter type is annotated with the JAXB @XmlRootElement annotation, parameters will be sent as XML using a JMS text message. Otherwise, the JMS binding will introspect the parameter types and select the most appropriate message type (e.g. object, bytes, etc).