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A framework for dynamic client-driven customization
Date Issued
2001
Author(s)
Ram, DJ
Babu, C
Abstract
With the advent of mobile clients, the clients need certain degree of flexibility to plug their own code at run-time, in accordance with the changing environments. Often, in such cases, there is a need to customize the services provided by the server. The paper explores different levels of customization in client-server systems. It presents a general framework in which client-driven customization can be achieved. The application of the framework in the context of Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) component architecture is discussed. EJB provides Deployment Descriptors(DDs), which axe written in eXtensible Markup Language(XML). These DDs help to customize the behavior of enterprise beans at the application deployment time, rather than fixing it at the bean development time. The main drawback with DDs is that they are entirely static in nature. The proposed framework eliminates this drawback and makes it viable for clients to customize applications dynamically. The power and flexibility of the proposed client customization is demonstrated by analyzing a practical application involving the client authentication using biometric tokens. Finally, the limitations of the proposed framework axe also discussed.