Java Cookbook, 2nd Edition

Chapter 16. Network Clients

Introduction

Java can be used to write many types of networked programs. In traditional socket-based code, the programmer is responsible for the entire interaction between the client and server. In higher-level types, such as RMI, CORBA, and EJB, the software takes over increasing degrees of control. Sockets are often used for connecting to “legacy” servers; if you were writing a new application from scratch, you’d be better off using a higher-level service.

It may be helpful to compare sockets with the telephone system. Telephones were originally used for analog voice traffic, which is pretty unstructured. Then it began to be used for some “layered” applications; the first widely popular one was facsimile transmission, or fax. Where would fax be without the widespread availability of voice telephony? The second wildly popular layered application is dialup TCP/IP. This coexisted with the Web to become popular as a mass-market service. Where would dialup IP be without widely deployed voice lines? And where would the Internet be without dialup IP?

Sockets are like that too. The Web, RMI, JDBC, CORBA, and EJB are all layered on top of sockets.

Ever since the alpha release of Java (originally as a sideline to the HotJava browser) in May 1995, Java has been popular as a programming language for building network applications. It’s easy to see why, particularly if you’ve ever built a networked application in C. First, C programmers have to worry about the platform ...