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Package javax.jms

The Java Message Service (JMS) API provides a common way for Java programs to create, send, receive and read an enterprise messaging system's messages.

See: Description

Package javax.jms Description

The Java Message Service (JMS) API provides a common way for Java programs to create, send, receive and read an enterprise messaging system's messages.

JMS Applications

A JMS application is composed of the following parts:

Administration

JMS providers differ significantly in their implementations of underlying messaging technology. There are also major differences in how a JMS provider's system is installed and administered.

For JMS clients to be portable, they must be isolated from these proprietary aspects of a provider. This is done by defining JMS administered objects that are created and customised by a provider's administrator and later used by clients. The client uses them through JMS interfaces that are portable. The administrator creates them using provider-specific facilities.

There are two types of JMS administered objects:

Administered objects are placed by an administrator in a JNDI (Java Naming and Directory Interface) namespace. A JMS client typically notes in its documentation the JMS administered objects it requires and how the JNDI names of these objects should be provided to it.

Two Messaging Styles

JMS supports two styles of messaging:

These two styles represent two of the dominant approaches to messaging currently in use.

JMS APIs

For historical reasons JMS offers four alternative sets of interfaces for sending and receiving messages:

Each API offers a different set of interfaces for connecting to a JMS provider and for sending and receiving messages. However they all share a common set of interfaces for representing messages and message destinations and to provide various utility features.

All interfaces are in the javax.jms package.

Interfaces common to multiple APIs

The main interfaces common to multiple APIs are as follows:

Classic API interfaces

The main interfaces provided by the classic API are as follows:

Simplified API interfaces

The simplified API provides the same messaging functionality as the classic API but requires fewer interfaces and is simpler to use. The main interfaces provided by the simplified API are as follows:

Legacy domain-specific API interfaces

Although the domain-specific API remains part of JMS for reasons of backwards compatibility it should be considered to be completely superseded by the classic and simplified APIs.

The main interfaces provided by the domain-specific API for point-to-point messaging are as follows:

The main interfaces provided by the domain-specific API for pub/sub messaging are as follows:

Terminology for sending and receiving messages

The term consume is used in this document to mean the receipt of a message by a JMS client; that is, a JMS provider has received a message and has given it to its client. Since JMS supports both synchronous and asynchronous receipt of messages, the term consume is used when there is no need to make a distinction between them.

The term produce is used as the most general term for sending a message. It means giving a message to a JMS provider for delivery to a destination.

Developing a JMS Application

Broadly speaking, a JMS application is one or more JMS clients that exchange messages. The application may also involve non-JMS clients; however, these clients use the JMS provider's native API in place of the JMS API.

A JMS application can be architected and deployed as a unit. In many cases, JMS clients are added incrementally to an existing application.

The message definitions used by an application may originate with JMS, or they may have been defined by the non-JMS part of the application.

Developing a JMS Client

A typical JMS client using the classic API executes the following JMS setup procedure:

In contrast, a typical JMS client using the simplified API does the following:

At this point a client has the basic JMS setup needed to produce and consume messages.

Package Specification

Java Message Service 2.0 specification

Related Documentation

Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) Technical Documentation
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