Java API for XML Messaging (JAXM)

Java API for XML Messaging (JAXM)

Q. What is the Java API for XML Messaging (JAXM)?

A: The Java API for XML Messaging (JAXM) is an API designed specifically for the exchange of XML business documents over the Internet. Examples of XML documents that might typically be exchanged are purchase orders, order confirmations, and invoices. You can send non-XML data by adding attachments to your message.

Q: What standards is JAXM based on?

A: JAXM is based on the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) 1.1 and SOAP with Attachments specifications. JAXM also allows the implementation of standard protocols on top of the SOAP implementation, such as SOAP-RP or the ebXML Transport, Routing & Packaging V1.0 - Message Service Specification.

Q. Do I have to use the J2EE platform to use JAXM?

A: No, you are free to use the Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE) as well as the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE). A stand-alone client (a client that does not use a messaging provider) can use the J2SE platform to send request-response messages to Web services that process request-response messages. This requires no deployment or configuration from the client, so it is easy to do.

Q. What is a messaging provider?

A: A messaging provider is a service that works with the messaging infrastructure to route and transmit messages. What it does is completely transparent to the client sending or receiving a message. An application that uses a messaging provider must use a connection that goes to the provider, called a ProviderConnection object in the JAXM API. Using a messaging provider also requires some deployment and configuration. Normally, a client using a messaging provider runs in a container -- either a servlet or a J2EE container. At deployment time, the client needs to give the container information about the messaging provider. In the future, there will be a deployment tool that makes this easy.

Q. Do I have to use a messaging provider?

A: No. You need to use a messaging provider only when your application requires one-way (asynchronous) messaging. In this type of messaging, a message is sent to a recipient as one operation, and the recipient responds at some later time in a different operation. If you application uses a request-response style of messaging, in which the response to a message is sent back as part of the same operation, you do not need a messaging provider. When you do not use a messaging provider, you use a SOAPConnection object, which supports the simpler request-response messaging model.

Q. Can a JAXM message be routed to more than one destination?

Yes. Intermediate recipients can be specified in a message's header. One way this capability can be used is to automate business processes. For example, two businesses can agree to the conditions under which they exchange XML documents so that they can implement the automatic generation of messages and responses. Assume that two businesses have an arrangement specifying that purchase orders will go first to the order entry department, then to the order confirmation department, then to the shipping department, and finally to the billing department. Each department is an intermediate recipient (called an actor). After an actor has done its part, it removes everything in the header that relates to it and sends the message on to the next actor listed in the header.

Q. Can I use ebXML headers in a JAXM message?

A: Yes, you can use ebXML headers if you use an ebXML profile that is implemented on top of SOAP. A profile is a standard protocol, such as ebXML TRP or SOAP-RP, that works on top of SOAP to give you added functionality. You need to use a messaging provider that supports the profile, and you need to arrange with your recipients to use the same profile.