Lookup names support in deployment descriptors and thin clients

Server objects, such as EJB homes, are bound relative to the server root context for the server in which the application is installed. Other objects, such as resources, can also be bound to a specific server root. The names used to look up these objects must be qualified so as to select the correct server root. This is a departure from previous versions of WebSphere Application Server, where these objects were all bound under a single root context. This section discusses what relative and qualified names are, when they can be used, and how you can construct them.

Relative names

All names are relative to a context. Therefore, a name that can be resolved from one context in the name space cannot necessarily be resolved from another context in the name space. This point is significant because the system binds objects with names relative to the server root context of the server in which the application is installed. Each server has its own server root context. The initial JNDI context is by default the server root context for the server identified by the provider URL used to obtain the initial context. (Typically, the URL consists of a host and port.) For applications running in a server process, the default initial JNDI context is the server root for that server. A relative name will resolve successfully when the initial context is obtained from the server which contains the target object, but it will not resolve successfully from an initial context obtained from another server.

If all clients of a server application run in the same server process as the application, all objects associated with that application are bound to the same initial context as the clients' initial context. In this case, only names relative to the server's server root context are required to access these server objects. Frequently, however, a server application has clients that run outside the application's server process. The initial context for these clients can be different from the server application's initial context, and lookups on the relative names for server objects may fail. These clients need to use the qualified name for the server objects. This point must be considered when setting up the jndiName values in a J2EE client application deployment descriptors and when constructing lookup names in thin clients. Qualified names resolve successfully from any initial context in the cell.

Qualified names

All names are relative to a context. Here, the term qualified name refers to names that can be resolved from any initial context in a cell. This action is accomplished by using names that navigate to the same context, the cell root. The rest of the qualified name is then relative to the cell root and uniquely identifies an object throughout the cell. All initial contexts in a server (that is, all naming contexts in a server registered with the ORB as an initial reference) contain a binding with the name cell , which links back to the cell root context. All qualified names begin with the string cell/ to navigate from the current initial context back to the cell root context.

A qualified name for an object is the same throughout the cell. The name can be topology-based, or some fixed name bound under the cell persistent root. Topology-based names, described in more detail below, navigate through the system name space to reach the target object. A fixed name bound under the cell persistent root has the same qualified name throughout the cell and is independent of the topology. Creating a fixed name under the cell persistent root for a server application object requires an extra step when the server application is installed, but this step eliminates impacts to clients when the application is moved to a different location in the cell topology. The process for creating a fixed name is described later in this section.

Generally speaking, you must use qualified names for EJB jndiName values in a J2EE client application deployment descriptors and for EJB lookup names in thin clients. The only exception is when the initial context is obtained from the server in which the target object resides. For example, a session bean which is a client to an entity bean can use a relative name if the two beans run in the same server. If the session bean and entity beans run in different servers, the jndiName for the entity bean must be qualified in the session bean's deployment descriptors. The same requirement may be true for resources as well, depending on the scope of the resource.

Topology-based names
The system name space partition in a cell's name space reflects the cell's topology. This structure can be navigated to reach any object bound into the cell's name space. Topology-based qualified names include elements from the topology which reflect the object's location within the cell. For a system-bound object, such as an EJB home, the form for a topology-based qualified name depends on whether the object is bound to a single server or cluster. Both forms are described below.
Single Server
An object bound in a single server has a topology-based qualified name of the following form:
```
cell/nodes/nodeName/servers/serverName/relativeJndiName
```
where nodeName and serverName are the node name and server name for the server where the object is bound, and relativeJndiName is the unqualified name of the object; that is, the object's name relative to its server's server root context.
Server Cluster
An object bound in a server cluster has a topology-based qualified name of the following form:
```
cell/clusters/clusterName/relativeJndiName
```
where clusterName is the name of the server cluster where the object is bound, and relativeJndiName is the unqualified name of the object; that is, the object's name relative to a cluster member's server root context.
Fixed names
It is possible to create a fixed name for a server object so that the qualified name is independent of the cell topology. This quality is desirable when clients of the application run in other server processes or as pure clients. Fixed names have the advantage of not changing if the object is moved to another server. The jndiName values in deployment descriptors for a J2EE client application can reference the qualified fixed name for a server object regardless of the cell topology on which the client or server application is being installed.
Defining a cell-wide fixed name for a server application object requires an extra step after the server application is installed. That is, a binding for the object must be created under the cell persistent root. A fixed name bound under the cell persistent root can be any name, but all names under the cell persistent root must be unique within the cell because the cell persistent root is global to the entire cell. A qualified fixed name has the form:
```
cell/persistent/fixedName
```
where fixedName is an arbitrary fixed name.
The binding can be created programmatically (for example, using JNDI). However, it is probably more convenient to configure a cell-scoped binding for the server object.
You must keep the programmatic or configured binding up-to-date. Configured EJB bindings are based on the location of the enterprise bean within the cell topology, and moving the EJB application to another single server or to a server cluster, for example, requires the configured binding to be updated. Similar changes affect an EJB home reference programmatically bound so that the fixed name would need to be rebound with a current reference. However, for J2EE clients, the jndiName value for the object, and for thin clients, the lookup name for the object, remains the same. In other words, clients that access objects by fixed names are not affected by changes to the configuration of server applications they access.

Related concepts
Naming
Name space logical view
Configured name bindings

Related reference
Initial context support