Chapter 5: Defining Component Interfaces

Parameter and return value datatypes

For method parameters and return values, you can choose predefined types from the drop-down list or enter a Java or IDL datatype name by typing it in the input field.

Predefined datatypes

The following table lists the predefined EAServer Manager datatypes and their IDL equivalents. These types display when you change the datatype of a parameter or change the method’s return type.

**Table 5-3: Predefined EAServer IDL datatypes**
EAServer Manager display datatype	CORBA IDL type	Description
boolean	boolean	One bit of binary data; a value that is either true or false
integer<16>	short	A 16-bit integer
integer<32>	long	A 32-bit integer
integer<64>	long long	A 64-bit integer
float	float	Single-precision IEEE floating point numbers
double	double	Double-precision IEEE floating point numbers
string	string	A sequence of characters of any length
binary	BCD::Binary	Sequence of bytes
decimal	BCD::Decimal	Fixed-point decimal
money	BCD::Money	Same as decimal
date	MJD::Date	A date including year, month, day, hour, minute, second, and millisecond values
time	MJD::Time	Holds the time of day, including hours, minutes, seconds, milliseconds
timestamp	MJD::Timestamp	Holds the same data as date, plus a nanoseconds value
ResultSet	TabularResults::ResultSet	A single table of relational database rows
ResultSets	TabularResults::ResultSets	A sequence of 0 or more ResultSet objects

Using IDL and Java datatypes

In addition to the predefined types listed in “Predefined datatypes”, you can also apply IDL and Java datatypes to parameters and return values by typing the name of an IDL or Java datatype.

IDL datatypes You can define your own datatypes and use them when defining method signatures. “Defining modules, interfaces, and types in IDL” discusses IDL in more detail.

To specify an IDL type name in the Method Properties dialog box, simply enter the type name in the Returns or Parameter Datatype field—for example, MyModule::MyType. The IDL module must be present in the EAServer IDL repository, and the module must contain a declaration for that type name.

Java datatypes You can specify Java datatypes as input parameters or return types. You cannot specify Java datatypes for parameters that use the inout or output modes. “Java class names used as IDL datatypes” describes which interfaces and classes can be used.

To specify a Java datatype, simply type the full class or interface name in the Returns or Parameter Datatype field—for example, java.util.Properties.

Java datatypes and interoperability If a method is defined using a Java datatype, only Java components can implement the method and only Java clients can invoke the method.

Importing interfaces from compiled Java files

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