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3439444Smsmith</HEAD>
3539444Smsmith<BODY>
3639444SmsmithProvides the mapping of the OMG CORBA APIs to the Java&trade;
3739444Smsmithprogramming language, including the class <code>ORB</code>, which is implemented
3839444Smsmithso that a programmer can use it as a fully-functional Object Request Broker
3939444Smsmith(ORB).
4039444Smsmith
4139444Smsmith<P>For a precise list of supported sections of official CORBA specifications with which
4239444Smsmiththe Java[TM] Platform, Standard Edition 6 complies, see <A
4339444SmsmithHREF="doc-files/compliance.html"><em>Official Specifications for CORBA support in
4439444SmsmithJava[TM] SE 6</em></A>.
4539444Smsmith
4639444Smsmith
4739444Smsmith<H1>General Information</H1>
4839444SmsmithThe information in this section is information relevant to someone who
4939444Smsmithcompiles Interface Definition Language (IDL) files and uses the
5039444SmsmithORB to write clients and servers.
5139444Smsmith
5239444Smsmith<P>The classes and interfaces described in this section can be put into
5339444Smsmithfour groups: <code>ORB classes</code>, Exceptions, <code>Helper</code> classes,
5439444Smsmithand <code>Holder</code> classes.
5539444Smsmith
5639444Smsmith<H2>
5739444SmsmithThe <code>ORB</code> Class</H2>
5839444Smsmith
5939444Smsmith<P>An ORB handles (or brokers) method invocations between a client and
6039444Smsmiththe method's implementation on a server. Because the client and server
6139444Smsmithmay be anywhere on a network, and because the invocation and implementation
6239444Smsmithmay be written in different programming languages, an ORB does a great
6339444Smsmithdeal of work behind the scenes to accomplish this communication.
6439444Smsmith
6539444Smsmith<P>Most of what an ORB does is completely transparent to the user, and a major
6639444Smsmithportion of the <code>CORBA</code> package consists of classes used by the ORB
6739444Smsmithbehind the scenes. The result is that most programmers will use only a
6839444Smsmithsmall part of this package directly. In fact, most programmers will use
6939444Smsmithonly a few methods from the <code>ORB</code> class, some exceptions, and
7039444Smsmithoccasionally,
7139444Smsmitha holder class.
7239444Smsmith<H3>
7339444Smsmith<code>ORB</code> Methods</H3>
7439444Smsmith
7539444Smsmith<P>Before an application can enter the CORBA environment, it must first:
7639444Smsmith<UL>
7739444Smsmith<LI>Be initialized into the ORB and possibly the object adapter (POA) environments.
7839444Smsmith<LI>Get references to ORB object (for use in future ORB operations)
7939444Smsmithand perhaps other objects (including the root POA or some Object Adapter objects).
8039444Smsmith</UL>
8139444Smsmith<P>The following operations are provided to initialize applications and obtain
8239444Smsmith the appropriate object references:
8339444Smsmith <UL>
8439444Smsmith <LI>Operations providing access to the ORB, which are discussed in this
8539444Smsmith section.
8639444Smsmith <LI>Operations providing access to Object Adapters, Interface Repository,
8739444Smsmith Naming Service, and other Object Services. These operations are described
8839444Smsmith in <a href="#adv"><em>Other Classes</em></a>.
8939444Smsmith </UL>
9039444Smsmith <P>
9139444SmsmithWhen an application requires a CORBA environment it needs a mechanism to
9239444Smsmithget an ORB object reference and possibly an OA object reference
9339444Smsmith(such as the root POA). This serves two purposes. First, it initializes
9439444Smsmithan application into the ORB and OA environments. Second, it returns the
9539444SmsmithORB object reference and the OA object reference to the application
9639444Smsmithfor use in future ORB and OA operations.
9739444Smsmith
9839444Smsmith<P>In order to obtain an ORB object reference, applications call
9939444Smsmiththe <code>ORB.init</code> operation. The parameters to the call can comprise an
10039444Smsmithidentifier for the ORB for which the object reference is required,
10139444Smsmith and an arg_list, which is used to allow environment-specific data to be
10239444Smsmith passed into the call.
10339444Smsmith
10439444Smsmith<P>These are the <code>ORB</code> methods
10539444Smsmith that provide access to the ORB:
10639444Smsmith<UL>
10739444Smsmith<LI>
10839444Smsmith<code><b>init</b>()</code>
10939444Smsmith
11039444Smsmith<LI>
11139444Smsmith<code><b>init</b>(String [] args, Properties props)</code>
11239444Smsmith
11339444Smsmith<LI>
11439444Smsmith<code><b>init</b>(Applet app, Properties props)</code>
11539444Smsmith</UL>
11639444Smsmith
11739444Smsmith<P>Using the <code>init()</code> method without parameters initiates
11839444Smsmitha singleton ORB,  which can only
11939444Smsmithgive typecode creation <code>any</code>s needed in code generated
12039444Smsmithin Helper classes by <code>idlj</code>.
12139444Smsmith
12239444Smsmith<P>Applications require a portable means by which to obtain their
12339444Smsmithinitial object references. References are required for the root
12439444SmsmithPOA, POA Current, Interface Repository, and various Object Services
12539444Smsmithinstances.  The functionality required by the application is similar
12639444Smsmith to that provided by the Naming Service. However, the OMG does not
12739444Smsmith want to mandate that the Naming Service be made available to all
12839444Smsmith applications in order that they may be portably initialized.
12939444Smsmith Consequently, the operations shown in this section provide a
13039444Smsmith simplified, local version of the Naming Service that applications
13139444Smsmith can use to obtain a small, defined set of object references which
13239444Smsmith are essential to its operation. Because only a small well-defined
13339444Smsmith set of objects are expected with this mechanism, the naming context
13439444Smsmith can be flattened to be a single-level name space. This simplification
13539444Smsmith results in only two operations being defined to achieve the functionality
13639444Smsmith  required.
13739444Smsmith  
13839444Smsmith<P>Initial references are obtained via two operations provided in
13939444Smsmiththe ORB object interface, providing facilities to list and
14039444Smsmithresolve initial object references.  These are:
14139444Smsmith<UL>
14239444Smsmith<LI>
14339444Smsmith<code><b>resolve_initial_references</b>(String name)</code>
14439444Smsmith<LI>
14539444Smsmith<code><b>list_initial_services</b>()</code>
14639444Smsmith<LI>
14739444Smsmith<code><b>register_initial_reference</b>(String id, org.omg.CORBA.Object obj)</code>
14839444Smsmith</UL>
14939444Smsmith
15039444Smsmith<P>An example that uses some of these methods is {@extLink idl_getting_started Getting Started with Java IDL}.
15139444Smsmith
15239444Smsmith<H2>
15339444SmsmithExceptions</H2>
15439444SmsmithExceptions in Java IDL are similar to those in any code written in the
15539444SmsmithJava programming language. If a method is defined to throw an exception,
15639444Smsmiththen any code using that method must have a <code>try</code>/<code>catch</code>
15739444Smsmithblock and handle that exception when it is thrown.
15839444Smsmith
15939444Smsmith<P>The documentation on {@extLink jidlexception Java&nbsp;IDL exceptions }
16039444Smsmithhas more information and explains the difference between
16139444Smsmithsystem exceptions and user-defined exceptions.
16239444Smsmith
16339444Smsmith<P>The following is a list of the system exceptions (which are unchecked
16439444Smsmithexceptions inheriting through <code><a href="SystemException.html">
16539444Smsmithorg.omg.CORBA.SystemException</a></code> from
16639444Smsmith<code>java.lang.RuntimeException</code>) that are defined in the package
16739444Smsmith<code>org.omg.CORBA</code>:
16839444Smsmith<PRE><code>
16939444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; BAD_CONTEXT
17039444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; BAD_INV_ORDER
17139444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; BAD_OPERATION
17239444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; BAD_PARAM
17339444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; BAD_TYPECODE
17439444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; COMM_FAILURE
17539444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; DATA_CONVERSION
17639444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; FREE_MEM
17739444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; IMP_LIMIT
17839444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; INITIALIZE
17939444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; INTERNAL
18039444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; INTF_REPOS
18139444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; INVALID_TRANSACTION
18239444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; INV_FLAG
18339444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; INV_IDENT
18439444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; INV_OBJREF
18539444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; INV_POLICY
18639444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; MARSHAL
18739444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="#NO_IMPLEMENT">NO_IMPLEMENT</a>
18839444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; NO_MEMORY
18939444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; NO_PERMISSION
19039444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; NO_RESOURCES
19139444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; NO_RESPONSE
19239444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; OBJECT_NOT_EXIST
19339444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; OBJ_ADAPTER
19439444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; PERSIST_STORE
19539444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; TRANSACTION_REQUIRED
19639444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; TRANSACTION_ROLLEDBACK
19739444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; TRANSIENT
19839444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; UNKNOWN
19939444Smsmith</code></PRE>
20039444Smsmith<P>
20139444SmsmithThe following is a list of user-defined exceptions defined in the package
20239444Smsmith<code>org.omg.CORBA</code>.
20339444Smsmith<PRE><code>
20439444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Bounds
20539444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; UnknownUserException
20639444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; WrongTransaction&nbsp;
20739444Smsmith&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; PolicyError
20839444Smsmith</code></PRE>
20939444Smsmith
21039444Smsmith <H2>Subpackages</H2>
21139444SmsmithThere are some packages inside the <code>CORBA</code> package with
21239444Smsmith"Package" as part of their names. These packages are generally quite small
21339444Smsmithbecause all they do is provide exceptions or classes for use by interfaces
21439444Smsmithand classes in the <code>CORBA</code> package.
21539444Smsmith
21639444Smsmith<P>For example, the package <code><a href="TypeCodePackage/package-summary.html">
21739444Smsmithorg.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage</a></code> contains
21839444Smsmithtwo exceptions thrown by methods in the class <code>TypeCode</code>. These
21939444Smsmithexceptions are:
22039444Smsmith<UL>
22139444Smsmith<LI>
22239444Smsmith<code>BadKind</code>
22339444Smsmith
22439444Smsmith<LI>
22539444Smsmith<code>Bounds</code>
22639444Smsmith</UL>
22739444SmsmithThe package <code><a href="ORBPackage/package-summary.html">
22839444Smsmithorg.omg.CORBA.ORBPackage</a></code> contains two exceptions:
22939444Smsmith<UL>
23039444Smsmith<LI>
23139444Smsmith<code>InvalidName</code>
23239444Smsmith
23339444Smsmith<LI>
23439444Smsmith<code>InconsistentTypeCode</code>
23539444Smsmith</UL>
23639444Smsmith
23739444Smsmith<P>Another package that is a subpackage of <code>CORBA</code> is the
23839444Smsmith<code><a href="portable/package-summary.html">portable</a></code>
23939444Smsmithpackage. It provides a set of ORB APIs that makes it
24039444Smsmithpossible for code generated by one vendor's IDL compiler to run
24139444Smsmithon another vendor's ORB.
24239444Smsmith
24339444Smsmith
24439444Smsmith
24539444Smsmith
24639444Smsmith<H2>
24739444SmsmithHolder classes</H2>
24839444Smsmith 
24939444Smsmith
25039444Smsmith<P>Support for out and inout parameter passing modes requires the use of
25139444Smsmithadditional  <em><a href="doc-files/generatedfiles.html#holder">holder
25239444Smsmithclasses</a></em>. Because the Java programming language does not support out or
25339444Smsmithinout parameters, holder classes are needed as a means of passing a parameter
25439444Smsmiththat can be modified. To support portable stubs and skeletons,
25539444Smsmithholder classes also implement the
25639444Smsmith<code><a href="portable/Streamable.html">org.omg.CORBA.portable.Streamable</a></code>
25739444Smsmithinterface.
25839444Smsmith 
25939444Smsmith <P>Holder classes are named by appending "Holder" to the name of the type.
26039444Smsmith The name of the type refers to its name in the Java programming language.  For
26139444Smsmith example, a holder class for the interface named <code>Account</code>
26239444Smsmith in the Java programming
26339444Smsmith language would be named <code>AccountHolder</code>.
26439444Smsmith
26539444Smsmith
26639444Smsmith<P>Holder classes are available for all of the basic IDL
26739444Smsmith datatypes in the <code>org.omg.CORBA</code> package.  So, for example,
26839444Smsmith there are already-defined classes for <code>LongHolder</code>, <code>ShortHolder</code>,
26939444Smsmith <code>FloatHolder</code>, and so on.  Classes are also generated for
27039444Smsmith all named user-defined IDL types except those defined by <code>typedefs</code>.
27139444Smsmith (Note that in this context user defined includes types that are
27239444Smsmith defined in OMG specifications such as those for the Interface
27339444Smsmith  Repository, and other OMG services.)
27439444Smsmith
27539444Smsmith
27639444Smsmith<P>Each holder class has:
27739444Smsmith<UL>
27839444Smsmith<LI>a constructor from an instance
27939444Smsmith<LI>a default constructor
28039444Smsmith<LI>a public instance member, <code>value</code> which is the typed value.
28139444Smsmith<LI>a method for reading an input stream and assigning the contents to the
28239444Smsmithtype's <code>value</code> field
28339444Smsmith<LI>a method for writing the value of the <code>value</code> field to an output stream
28439444Smsmith<LI>a method for getting the typecode of the type
28539444Smsmith</UL>
28639444Smsmith
28739444Smsmith<P>The default constructor sets the value field to the default value for the
28839444Smsmithtype as defined by the Java language:
28939444Smsmith<UL>
29039444Smsmith<LI><code>false</code> for boolean
29139444Smsmith<LI><code>0</code> for numeric and char types
29239444Smsmith<LI><code>null</code> for strings and object references
29339444Smsmith</UL>
29439444Smsmith
29539444Smsmith
29639444Smsmith
29739444Smsmith<P>
29839444SmsmithAs an example, if the interface <code>Account</code>, defined in OMG IDL,
29939444Smsmithwere mapped to the Java programming language, the following holder class
30039444Smsmithwould be generated:
30139444Smsmith<PRE>
30239444Smsmithpublic final class AccountHolder implements
30339444Smsmith    org.omg.CORBA.portable.Streamable
30439444Smsmith{
30539444Smsmith  // field that holds an Account object
30639444Smsmith  public Account value = null;
30739444Smsmith
308  // default constructor
309  public AccountHolder ()
310  {
311  }
312  
313  // creates a new AccountHolder from initialValue
314  public AccountHolder (Account initialValue)
315  {
316    value = initialValue;
317  }
318  
319  // reads the contents of i and assigns the contents to value
320  public void _read (org.omg.CORBA.portable.InputStream i)
321  {
322    value = AccountHelper.read (i);
323  }
324
325  // writes value to o
326  public void _write (org.omg.CORBA.portable.OutputStream o)
327  {
328    AccountHelper.write (o, value);
329  }
330 
331  // returns the typecode for Account
332  public org.omg.CORBA.TypeCode _type ()
333  {
334    return AccountHelper.type ();
335  }
336
337}
338</PRE>
339
340<P>For more information on Holder classes, see Chapter 1.4, <em>Mapping for
341Basic Types</em> in the <a href="http://www.omg.org/cgi-bin/doc?ptc/00-01-08">
342<em>OMG IDL to Java Language Mapping</em></a>. The Holder classes defined 
343in the package <code>org.omg.CORBA</code> are:
344<PRE><code>
345&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; AnyHolder
346&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; AnySeqHolder
347&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; BooleanHolder
348&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; BooleanSeqHolder
349&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ByteHolder
350&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; CharHolder
351&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; CharSeqHolder
352&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; CurrentHolder
353&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; DoubleHolder
354&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; DoubleSeqHolder
355&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; FixedHolder
356&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; FloatHolder
357&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; FloatSeqHolder
358&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; IntHolder
359&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; LongHolder
360&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; LongLongSeqHolder
361&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; LongSeqHolder
362&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ObjectHolder
363&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; OctetSeqHolder
364&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ParameterModeHolder
365&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; PolicyErrorHolder
366&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; PolicyListHolder
367&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; PrincipalHolder
368&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ServiceInformationHolder
369&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ShortHolder
370&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ShortSeqHolder
371&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; StringHolder
372&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; StringSeqHolder
373&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; TypeCodeHolder
374&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ULongLongSeqHolder
375&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ULongSeqHolder
376&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; UnknownUserExceptionHolder
377&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; UShortSeqHolder
378&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ValueBaseHolder
379&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; WCharSeqHolder
380&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; WrongTransactionHolder
381&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; WStringSeqHolder
382</code></PRE>
383
384<h2>Helper Classes </h2>
385<P>Helper files supply several static methods needed to manipulate the type.
386 These include:
387 <UL>
388 <LI><code>Any</code> insert and extract operations for the type
389 <LI>getting the repository id
390 <LI>getting the typecode
391 <LI>reading and writing the type from and to a stream
392 <LI>implement the <code>ValueHelper</code> interface (if it is  a user-defined
393   value type)
394 </UL> 
395
396<P>The helper class for a mapped IDL interface or abstract interface
397also include narrow operation(s). The static narrow method allows
398an <code>org.omg.CORBA.Object</code> to be narrowed to the object reference
399of a more specific type. The IDL exception <code>CORBA.BAD_PARAM</code>
400is thrown if the narrow fails because the object reference does not
401support the requested type. A different system exception is raised
402to indicate other kinds of errors. Trying to narrow a <code>null</code> will always
403succeed with a return value of <code>null</code>.
404Generally, the only helper method an application programmer uses is
405the <code>narrow</code> method.  The other methods are normally used behind
406the scenes and are transparent to the programmer.
407
408<P>Helper classes
409fall into two broad categories, <a href="#value">helpers for value types</a> and
410<a href="#basic">helpers for non value types</a>. Because all of the helper
411classes in one category
412provide the same methods, one generic explanation of each
413category of helper classes is presented here.
414
415<P>
416When OMG IDL is mapped to the Java programming language,
417a "helper" class is generated for each user-defined type.
418This generated class will have the name of the user-defined type with
419the suffix <code>Helper</code> appended.  For example, if the
420interface <code>Account</code> is defined in OMG IDL, the
421<code>idlj</code> compiler will automatically generate a class named
422<code>AccountHelper</code>.  The <code>AccountHelper</code> class
423will contain the static methods needed for manipulating instances of the type,
424in this case, <code>Account</code> objects.
425
426
427<a id="narrow"></a>
428<h3>The <code>narrow</code> Method</h3>
429When an object is the return value for a method, it is returned in the
430form of a generic object, either an <code>org.omg.CORBA.Object</code> object
431or a <code>java.lang.Object</code> object. This object must be cast to its
432more specific type before it can be operated on.  For example, an
433<code>Account</code> object will be returned as a generic object and must
434be narrowed to an <code>Account</code> object so that <code>Account</code>
435methods may be called on it.
436<P>
437The <code>narrow</code> method has two forms, one that takes an
438<code>org.omg.CORBA.Object</code> object and one that takes a
439<code>java.lang.Object</code> object. Whether the interface is abstract or
440not determines which <code>narrow</code> method its helper class will provide.
441The helper class for an interface
442that is not abstract will have a <code>narrow</code> method that takes a CORBA
443object, whereas the <code>narrow</code> method for an interface that is abstract
444will take an object in the Java programming language.  The helper class for a
445non-abstract interface that has at least one abstract base interface will provide
446both versions of the <code>narrow</code> method.
447<P>The {@extLink idl_guides Hello World tutorial}
448uses a <code>narrow</code> method that looks like this:
449<PRE>
450        // create and initialize the ORB
451        ORB orb = ORB.init(args, null);
452
453        // get the root naming context
454        org.omg.CORBA.Object objRef = 
455            orb.resolve_initial_references("NameService");
456        // Use NamingContextExt instead of NamingContext. This is 
457        // part of latest Inter-Operable naming Service.  
458        NamingContextExt ncRef = NamingContextExtHelper.narrow(objRef);
459 
460        // resolve the Object Reference in Naming
461        String name = "Hello";
462        helloImpl = HelloHelper.narrow(ncRef.resolve_str(name));
463</PRE>
464
465<a id="basic"></a>
466<h3>Example of a Basic Helper Class</h3>
467A basic helper class, for purposes of this explanation, is one with
468the methods that are provided by every helper class, plus a <code>narrow</code>
469method if the type defined in OMG IDL maps to an interface in the Java
470programming language.  Types that are not value types will have a basic
471helper class generated for them.
472<P>
473For example, assuming that the interface <code>Account</code> is not a
474value type IDL type and is also not an abstract interface and has no
475abstract base interfaces, its <code>AccountHelper</code> class will look
476like this:
477<PRE>
478abstract public class AccountHelper
479{
480  private static String  _id = "IDL:Account:1.0";
481
482  // inserts an Account object into an Any object
483  public static void insert (org.omg.CORBA.Any a, Account that)
484  {
485    org.omg.CORBA.portable.OutputStream out = a.create_output_stream ();
486    a.type (type ());
487    write (out, that);
488    a.read_value (out.create_input_stream (), type ());
489  }
490
491  // extracts an Account object from an Any object
492  public static Account extract (org.omg.CORBA.Any a)
493  {
494    return read (a.create_input_stream ());
495  }
496
497  
498  private static org.omg.CORBA.TypeCode __typeCode = null;
499  // gets the typecode for this type
500  synchronized public static org.omg.CORBA.TypeCode type ()
501  {
502    if (__typeCode == null)
503    {
504      __typeCode = org.omg.CORBA.ORB.init ().create_interface_tc (AccountHelper.id (), "Account");
505    }
506    return __typeCode;
507  }
508
509  // gets the repository id for this type
510  public static String id ()
511  {
512    return _id;
513  }
514
515  // reads an Account object from an input stream
516  public static Account read (org.omg.CORBA.portable.InputStream istream)
517  {
518    return narrow (istream.read_Object (_AccountStub.class));
519  }
520
521  // writes an Account object to an outputstream
522  public static void write (org.omg.CORBA.portable.OutputStream ostream, Account value)
523  {
524    ostream.write_Object ((org.omg.CORBA.Object) value);
525  }
526
527  // converts (narrows) an Object to an Account object
528  public static Account narrow (org.omg.CORBA.Object obj)
529  {
530    if (obj == null)
531      return null;
532    else if (obj instanceof Account)
533      return (Account)obj;
534    else if (!obj._is_a (id ()))
535      throw new org.omg.CORBA.BAD_PARAM ();
536    else
537    {
538      org.omg.CORBA.portable.Delegate delegate = ((org.omg.CORBA.portable.ObjectImpl)obj)._get_delegate ();
539      _AccountStub stub = new _AccountStub ();
540      stub._set_delegate(delegate);
541      return stub;
542    }
543  }
544
545}
546</PRE>
547
548<a id="value"></a>
549<h3>Value Type Helper Classes</h3>
550A helper class for a value type includes different renderings of
551the same methods generated for non-value type methods. The main difference
552 is that value types are types that can be
553passed by value as parameters or return values of a method, which means that
554they must be serializable.
555<P>Assuming that <code>Address</code> is a value type, the
556<code>AddressHelper</code> class will look like this:
557<pre>
558abstract public class AddressHelper
559{
560  private static String  _id = "IDL:Address:1.0";
561
562  // same as for non-value type
563  public static void insert (org.omg.CORBA.Any a, Address that)
564  {
565    org.omg.CORBA.portable.OutputStream out = a.create_output_stream ();
566    a.type (type ());
567    write (out, that);
568    a.read_value (out.create_input_stream (), type ());
569  }
570
571  // same as for non-value type
572  public static Address extract (org.omg.CORBA.Any a)
573  {
574    return read (a.create_input_stream ());
575  }
576
577  private static org.omg.CORBA.TypeCode __typeCode = null;
578  private static boolean __active = false;
579  
580  // getting the typecode for the type
581  synchronized public static org.omg.CORBA.TypeCode type ()
582  {
583    if (__typeCode == null)
584    {
585      synchronized (org.omg.CORBA.TypeCode.class)
586      {
587        if (__typeCode == null)
588        {
589          if (__active)
590          {
591            return org.omg.CORBA.ORB.init().create_recursive_tc ( _id );
592          }
593          __active = true;
594          org.omg.CORBA.ValueMember[] _members0 = new org.omg.CORBA.ValueMember[0];
595          org.omg.CORBA.TypeCode _tcOf_members0 = null;
596          __typeCode = org.omg.CORBA.ORB.init ().create_value_tc (_id, "Address", org.omg.CORBA.VM_NONE.value, null, _members0);
597          __active = false;
598        }
599      }
600    }
601    return __typeCode;
602  }
603
604  // same as for non-value type
605  public static String id ()
606  {
607    return _id;
608  }
609
610  // reads a serializable instance of Address from the given input stream
611  public static Address read (org.omg.CORBA.portable.InputStream istream)
612  {
613    return (Address)((org.omg.CORBA_2_3.portable.InputStream) istream).read_value (id ());
614  }
615
616  // writes a serializable instance of Address to the given output stream
617  public static void write (org.omg.CORBA.portable.OutputStream ostream, Address value)
618  {
619    ((org.omg.CORBA_2_3.portable.OutputStream) ostream).write_value (value, id ());
620  }
621
622
623}
624</pre>
625
626<P>The Helper classes defined in the package <code>org.omg.CORBA</code> are:
627<PRE><code>
628&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; AnySeqHelper
629&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; BooleanSeqHelper
630&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; CharSeqHelper
631&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; CompletionStatusHelper
632&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; CurrentHelper
633&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; DefinitionKindHelper
634&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; DoubleSeqHelper
635&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; FieldNameHelper
636&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; FloatSeqHelper
637&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; IdentifierHelper
638&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; IDLTypeHelper
639&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; LongLongSeqHelper
640&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; LongSeqHelper
641&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; NameValuePairHelper
642&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ObjectHelper
643&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; OctetSeqHelper
644&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ParameterModeHelper
645&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; PolicyErrorCodeHelper
646&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; PolicyErrorHelper
647&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; PolicyHelper
648&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; PolicyListHelper
649&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; PolicyTypeHelper
650&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; RepositoryIdHelper
651&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ServiceDetailHelper
652&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ServiceInformationHelper
653&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; SetOverrideTypeHelper
654&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ShortSeqHelper
655&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; StringSeqHelper
656&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; StringValueHelper
657&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; StructMemberHelper
658&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ULongLongSeqHelper
659&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ULongSeqHelper
660&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; UnionMemberHelper
661&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; UnknownUserExceptionHelper
662&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; UShortSeqHelper
663&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ValueBaseHelper
664&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ValueMemberHelper
665&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; VersionSpecHelper
666&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; VisibilityHelper
667&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; WCharSeqHelper
668&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; WrongTransactionHelper
669&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; WStringSeqHelper
670&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; WStringValueHelper
671</code></PRE>
672<a id="adv"></a>
673<H1>
674Other Classes</H1>
675The other classes and interfaces in the <code>CORBA</code> package, which are
676used behind the scenes, can be put into four groups. Three of the groups
677are used with requests in some capacity, and the fourth group, concerning
678the Interface Repository, is a category by itself.
679<H2>
680Classes Created by an ORB</H2>
681The first group contains classes that are created by an ORB and contain
682information used in request operations. 
683<UL>
684<LI>
685<code>TCKind</code> -- indicates the kind (datatype) for a <code>TypeCode</code>
686object
687
688<LI>
689<code>TypeCode</code> -- indicates a datatype and possibly other information
690
691<LI>
692<code>Any</code> -- contains a value and its typecode
693
694<LI>
695<code>NamedValue</code> -- contains a name, an <code>Any</code> object, and an
696argument mode flag. <code>NamedValue</code> objects contain information about
697method arguments, method return values, or a context.
698
699<LI>
700<code>ContextList</code> -- a list of strings that describe the contexts that
701need to be resolved and sent with an invocation
702
703<LI>
704<code>ExceptionList</code> -- a list of <code>TypeCode</code>s for exceptions that
705may be thrown by a method
706
707<LI>
708<code>Environment</code> -- a container for the exception thrown during a method
709invocation
710
711<LI>
712<code>Context</code> -- a list of <code>NamedValue</code> objects used to pass
713auxiliary information from client to server
714
715<LI>
716<code>NVList</code> -- a list of <code>NamedValue</code> objects, used to pass
717arguments or get results
718</UL>
719
720<H2>
721Classes That Deal with Requests</H2>
722The second group of classes deals with requests:
723<UL>
724<LI>
725<code>Object</code> -- the base class for all CORBA object references
726
727<LI>
728<code>Request</code> -- the main class in the DII, which contains methods for
729adding arguments to the request, for accessing information about the method
730being invoked (the method name, its arguments, exceptions it throws, and
731so on), and for making invocations on the request
732
733<LI>
734<code>DynamicImplementation</code> -- the base class for server implementations
735using the DSI. It has the method <code>invoke</code>, which is used by an 
736implementation
737of this class to determine the state of a <code>ServerRequest</code> object
738and to set its result or exception
739
740<LI>
741<code>ServerRequest</code> -- captures the explicit state of a request for
742the Dynamic Skeleton Interface
743</UL>
744
745<H2>
746Interfaces That Serve as Constants</H2>
747The third group contains interfaces that serve as constants. The IDL-to-Java
748mapping mandates that IDL enums are mapped to a Java class with the enumerated
749values represented as public static final fields in that class (e.g.
750DefinitionKind).
751On the other hand IDL constants defined outside of an IDL interface are
752mapped to a Java interface for each constant.
753
754<P>This is why several interfaces in the <code>org.omg.CORBA</code> package
755consist of a single field, <code>value</code>, which is a <code>short</code>. This
756field is a constant used for such things as an error code or value modifier.
757For example, the <code>value</code> field of the interface <code>BAD_POLICY</code>
758is one of the possible reasons for the exception <code>PolicyError</code> to
759be thrown. To specify this error code, you would use <code>BAD_POLICY.value</code>.
760
761<P>The exception <code>PolicyError</code> uses the <code>value</code> field of
762the following interfaces as its possible error codes.
763<UL>
764<LI>
765<code>BAD_POLICY</code>
766
767<LI>
768<code>BAD_POLICY_TYPE</code>
769
770<LI>
771<code>BAD_POLICY_VALUE</code>
772
773<LI>
774<code>UNSUPPORTED_POLICY</code>
775
776<LI>
777<code>UNSUPPORTED_POLICY_VALUE</code>
778</UL>
779The method <code>TypeCode.type_modifier</code> returns the <code>value</code> field
780of one of the following interfaces. The <code>VM</code> in the names of these
781interfaces stands for "value modifier."
782<UL>
783<LI>
784<code>VM_NONE</code>
785
786<LI>
787<code>VM_ABSTRACT</code>
788
789<LI>
790<code>VM_CUSTOM</code>
791
792<LI>
793<code>VM_TRUNCATABLE</code>
794</UL>
795The following constants are returned by a <code>ValueMember</code> object's
796access method to denote the visibility of the <code>ValueMember</code> object.
797<UL>
798<LI>
799<code>PRIVATE_MEMBER</code>
800
801<LI>
802<code>PUBLIC_MEMBER</code>
803</UL>
804These flags, used in <code>NamedValue</code> objects or as parameters to methods,
805are defined in the following interfaces:
806<UL>
807<LI>
808<code>ARG_IN</code>
809
810<LI>
811<code>ARG_INOUT</code>
812
813<LI>
814<code>ARG_OUT</code>
815
816<LI>
817<code>CTX_RESTRICT_SCOPE</code>
818</UL>
819
820<H2>
821Interface Repository Interfaces and Classes</H2>
822A fourth group contains the Interface Repository interfaces and classes,
823which are generated by the <code>idlj</code> compiler from the OMG IDL
824interface <code>ir.idl</code>. The purpose of the Interface Repository is to
825identify the interfaces stored in it so that they can be accessed by an
826ORB. Each module, type, interface, attribute, operation, parameter, exception,
827constant, and so on is described completely by the Interface Repository
828API.
829
830<P>An ORB does not require that there be an interface repository, and Java
831IDL does not include one. Even though this release does not include an
832implementation of an interface repository, the following IR classes and
833interfaces have been included for the purpose of creating typecodes (see
834create_value_tc, create_struct_tc, create_union_tc and create_exception_tc
835methods in interface org.omg.CORBA.ORB):
836<BR>&nbsp;
837<UL>
838<LI>
839IRObject
840
841<LI>
842IDLType
843
844<LI>
845DefinitionKind
846
847<LI>
848StructMember
849
850<LI>
851UnionMember
852
853<LI>
854ValueMember
855</UL>
856<!-- End Page Data -->
857<HR>
858<H1>
859Related Documentation</H1>
860For overviews, guides, and a tutorial, please see:
861<UL>
862<LI> {@extLink idl_guides Java&nbsp;IDL tutorial page}.</LI>
863<LI> {@extLink rmi_iiop_guides RMI-IIOP developer's guide}.</LI>
864</UL>
865
866
867
868
869<P><A id="unimpl"></A>
870<H1>
871CORBA Features Not Implemented in Java IDL</H1>
872
873<P>Some of the API included in <code>org.omg</code> subpackages is provided for
874conformance with the current OMG CORBA specification but is not implemented
875in Sun's release of the JDK&trade;. This enables
876other JDK licensees to provide implementations of this API in standard
877extensions and products.
878
879<P><A id="NO_IMPLEMENT"></A>
880<h2>Features That Throw NO_IMPLEMENT</h2>
881
882<P>Some of the API included in <code>org.omg</code> subpackages throw
883<code>NO_IMPLEMENT</code> exceptions for various reasons.  Among these reasons
884are:
885    <UL>
886    <LI>In some cases, for example <code>LocalObject</code>, the complete
887    implementation according to the specification indicates that
888    these API should throw <code>NO_IMPLEMENT</code>.
889
890    <LI>In most cases, for example methods in <code>ORB.java</code>,
891    methods that throw
892    <code>NO_IMPLEMENT</code> are actually implemented in subclasses
893    elsewhere in the ORB code.
894
895    <LI>In some cases, for example <code>_get_interface_def()</code> 
896    and <code>_get_interface</code>, API are really not yet implemented.
897    </UL>
898
899
900
901
902<H2>
903General Summary of Features or API Not Implemented in This Release:</H2>
904
905<UL>
906<LI>
907Interface Repository. An Interface Repository is not required for normal
908operation of Java IDL.
909
910<LI>
911Java IDL does not support <code>long double</code>.
912
913
914<LI>
915Policies (<code><a href="Policy.html">org.omg.CORBA.Policy</a></code>)
916and methods for getting them are not implemented.
917
918<LI>
919Domain managers (<code><a href="DomainManager.html">org.omg.CORBA.DomainManager</a></code>) and methods for
920getting them are not implemented.
921
922<LI>
923Service Information <code><a href="ServiceInformation.html">org.omg.CORBA.ServiceInformation</a></code>
924and ORB method 
925<code>public boolean get_service_information(short service_type, ServiceInformationHolder service_info)</code>
926are not implemented.
927
928<LI>ORB methods for supporting single-threading
929(<code>perform_work</code>, <code>work_pending</code>) are not implemented.
930
931<LI>IDL contexts.
932</UL>
933
934<HR>
935<H2>
936Specific List of Unimplemented Features in Package <code>org.omg.CORBA</code></H2>
937
938
939<H3>
940Unimplemented Methods in package <code>org.omg.CORBA</code>:</H3>
941
942<UL>
943<LI>
944<code>ORB</code>
945
946<UL>
947<LI>
948<code>public org.omg.CORBA.Policy create_policy(int type, org.omg.CORBA.Any val)</code>
949
950
951
952<LI>
953<code>public void perform_work()</code>
954
955<LI>
956<code>public boolean work_pending()</code>
957
958<LI>
959<code>public org.omg.CORBA.Current get_current()</code>
960
961<LI>
962<code>create_operation_list</code>
963
964<LI>
965<code>get_default_context</code>
966
967<LI>
968<code>get_service_information</code>
969
970<LI>
971obsolete <code>DynAnys</code> (deprecated in favor of <code>DynamicAny</code> package)
972
973
974</UL>
975
976
977
978</UL>
979@since JDK1.2
980@serial exclude
981</BODY>
982</HTML>
983