What Is J2EE Client?

When you think of a client, what do you picture? A person, maybe? Or a cat? Perhaps even a dog? The thing is, clients are more than just people—they can be things too! In Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE), "client" refers to an application component that accesses the J2EE environment to process requests or use J2EE services. When we say "access," we mean it literally: clients can access J2EE servers across various networks to execute bids or use services. Recommendations vary from HTTP to more complex server communication across different networks. So what does this mean for you? If you're building a J2EE system, you'll want to know how your clients will interact with each other and their servers. That's where we come in! We'll help you figure out how your clients should be configured and what they should look like so they can work together seamlessly. The difference between J2EE and stand-alone clients is that a J2EE client can access different J2EE services. A J2EE client is either a Web client or an application client. A Web client is a software that runs on a web browser and accesses a server through the internet. An application client is installed on your computer, allowing you to connect to a database and run applications that use data from the database. Web clients are the opposite of web servers. Webservers are big and powerful and run on enterprise-ready computers that can do much stuff—they're the brains of the operation. Web clients are little guys who sit there, waiting for all the essential elements to happen. They're like powerless children who want their parents to care for them so they can be safe and sound at home. Web clients don't do anything—they wait for the server to give them stuff. The server is responsible for creating dynamic web pages and sending them to the client, which then displays them on its screen (or sends them to another computer) so humans can look at them.