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Getting Started with Java IDL: Developing the Hello World Server

The example server consists of two classes, the servant and the server. The servant, HelloServant, is the implementation of the Hello IDL interface; each Hello instance is implemented by a HelloServant instance. The servant is a subclass of _HelloImplBase, which is generated by the idlj compiler from the example IDL. The servant contains one method for each IDL operation, in this example, just the sayHello() method. Servant methods are just like ordinary Java methods; the extra code to deal with the ORB, with marshaling arguments and results, and so on, is provided by the server and the stubs.

The server class has the server's main() method, which:

• Creates an ORB instance
• Creates a servant instance (the implementation of one CORBA Hello object) and tells the ORB about it
• Gets a CORBA object reference for a naming context in which to register the new CORBA object
• Registers the new object in the naming context under the name "Hello"
• Waits for invocations of the new object

This lesson introduces the basics of writing a CORBA transient server. The steps in this topic cover:

1. Creating HelloServer.java
2. Understanding HelloServer.java
3. Compiling the Hello World Server

To see the complete version of HelloServer.java, follow the link.

Creating HelloServer.java

To create HelloServer.java,

1. Start your text editor and create a file named HelloServer.java in your main project directory, Hello.

2. Enter the following code for HelloServer.java in the text file. The following section, Understanding HelloServer.java, explains each line of code in some detail.

   // The package containing our stubs.
   import HelloApp.*;
   
   // HelloServer will use the naming service.
   import org.omg.CosNaming.*;
   
   // The package containing special exceptions thrown by the name service.
   import org.omg.CosNaming.NamingContextPackage.*;
   
   // All CORBA applications need these classes.
   import org.omg.CORBA.*;
   
   
   
   public class HelloServer 
   {
     public static void main(String args[])
     {
       try{
       
         // Create and initialize the ORB
         ORB orb = ORB.init(args, null);
         
         // Create the servant and register it with the ORB
         HelloServant helloRef = new HelloServant();
         orb.connect(helloRef);
         
         // Get the root naming context
         org.omg.CORBA.Object objRef = orb.resolve_initial_references("NameService");
         NamingContext ncRef = NamingContextHelper.narrow(objRef);
         
         // Bind the object reference in naming
         // Make sure there are no spaces between ""
         NameComponent nc = new NameComponent("Hello", "");
         NameComponent path[] = {nc};
         ncRef.rebind(path, helloRef);
         
         // Wait for invocations from clients
         java.lang.Object sync = new java.lang.Object();
         synchronized(sync){
           sync.wait();
         }
         
       } catch(Exception e) {
           System.err.println("ERROR: " + e);
           e.printStackTrace(System.out);
         }  
     }
   }
   
   
   
   class HelloServant extends _HelloImplBase
   {
     public String sayHello()
     {
       return "\nHello world!!\n";
     
     }
   }
   

3. Save and close HelloServer.java.

This section explains each line of HelloServer.java, describing what the code does, as well as why it is needed for this application.

Performing Basic Setup

The structure of a CORBA server program is the same as most Java applications: You import required library packages, declare the server class, define a main() method, and handle exceptions.

Importing Required Packages

First, we import the packages required for the server class:

// The package containing our stubs.
import HelloApp.*;

// HelloServer will use the naming service.
import org.omg.CosNaming.*;

// The package containing special exceptions thrown by the name service.
import org.omg.CosNaming.NamingContextPackage.*;

// All CORBA applications need these classes.
import org.omg.CORBA.*;

The next step is to declare the server class:

public class HelloServer 
{
  // The main() method goes here.
}

Every Java application needs a main method. It is declared within the scope of the HelloServer class:

  public static void main(String args[])
  {
    // The try-catch block goes here.
  }

Because all CORBA programs can throw CORBA system exceptions at runtime, all of the main() functionality is placed within a try-catch block. CORBA programs throw runtime exceptions whenever trouble occurs during any of the processes (marshaling, unmarshaling, upcall) involved in invocation. The exception handler simply prints the exception and its stack trace to standard output so you can see what kind of thing has gone wrong.

The try-catch block is set up inside main(), as shown:

    try{
    
      // The rest of the HelloServer code goes here.
    
    } catch(Exception e) {
        System.err.println("ERROR: " + e);
        e.printStackTrace(System.out);
      }

Just like in the client application, a CORBA server also needs a local ORB object. Every server instantiates an ORB and registers its servant objects so that the ORB can find the server when it receives an invocation for it.

The ORB variable is declared and initialized inside the try-catch block.

      ORB orb = ORB.init(args, null);

The call to the ORB's init() method passes in the server's command line arguments, allowing you to set certain properties at runtime.

Managing the Servant Object

We instantiate the servant object inside the try-catch block, just below the call to init(), as shown:

      HelloServant helloRef = new HelloServant();

The section of code describing the servant class will be explained in a later step.

The next step is to connect the servant to the ORB, so that the ORB can recognize invocations on it and pass them along to the correct servant:

      orb.connect(helloRef);

At the end of HelloServer.java, outside the HelloServer class, we define the class for the servant object.

class HelloServant extends _HelloImplBase
{
  // The sayHello() method goes here.
}

The servant is a subclass of _HelloImplBase so that it inherits the general CORBA functionality generated for it by the compiler.

Next, we declare the required sayHello() method:

  public String sayHello()
  {
    // The method implementation goes here.
  }

The sayHello() implementation looks like this:

    return "\nHello world!!\n";

The HelloServer works with the naming service to make the servant object's operations available to clients. The server needs an object reference to the name service, so that it can register itself and ensure that invocations on the Hello interface are routed to its servant object.

Obtaining the Initial Naming Context

In the try-catch block, below instantiation of the servant, we call orb.resolve_initial_references() to get an object reference to the name server:

      org.omg.CORBA.Object objRef = orb.resolve_initial_references("NameService");

The string "NameService" is defined for all CORBA ORBs. When you pass in that string, the ORB returns a naming context object that is an object reference for the name service.

Narrowing the Object Reference

As with all CORBA object references, objRef is a generic CORBA object. To use it as a NamingContext object, you must narrow it to its proper type. The call to narrow() is just below the previous statement:

      NamingContext ncRef = NamingContextHelper.narrow(objRef);

Here you see the use of an idlj-generated helper class, similar in function to HelloHelper. The ncRef object is now an org.omg.CosNaming.NamingContext and you can use it to access the naming service and register the server, as shown in the next topic.

Registering the Servant with the Name Server

Just below the call to narrow(), we create a new NameComponent member:

      NameComponent nc = new NameComponent("Hello", "");

This statement sets the id field of nc to "Hello" and the kind component to the empty string. Make sure there are no spaces between the "".

Because the path to the Hello has a single element, we create the single-element array that NamingContext.resolve requires for its work:

      NameComponent path[] = {nc};

Finally, we pass path and the servant object to the naming service, binding the servant object to the "Hello" id:

      ncRef.rebind(path, helloRef);

Now, when the client calls resolve("Hello") on the initial naming context, the naming service returns an object reference to the Hello servant.

Waiting for Invocation

The previous sections describe the code that makes the server ready; the next section explains the code that enables it to simply wait around for a client to request its service. The following code, which is at the end of (but within) the try-catch block, shows how to accomplish this.

      java.lang.Object sync = new java.lang.Object();
      synchronized(sync){
        sync.wait();
      }

This form of Object.wait() requires HelloServer to remain alive (though quiescent) until an invocation comes from the ORB. Because of its placement in main(), after an invocation completes and sayHello() returns, the server will wait again.

Compiling the Hello World Server

Now we will compile the HelloServer.java so that we can correct any error before continuing with this tutorial.

Windows users note that you should substitute backslashes (\) for the slashes (/) in all paths in this document.

To compile HelloServer.java,

1. Change to the Hello directory.

2. Run the Java compiler on HelloServer.java:

   javac HelloServer.java HelloApp/*.java
   

3. Correct any errors in your file and recompile if necessary. (You can copy the file from HelloServer.java, if you have trouble finding your typographical errors).

4. The files HelloServer.class and HelloServant.class are generated in the Hello directory.

The next section describes Running the Hello World Application.

For More Information

Exceptions: System Exceptions

Explains how CORBA system exceptions work and provides details on the minor codes of Java IDL's system exceptions

Developing Servers

Covers topics of interest to CORBA server programmers

Naming Service

Covers the COS Naming Service in greater detail