🚀 go-pugleaf

Hi

After exploring some options to web-enable an existing C/S app, the
option of using a Java applet talking to the existing C/S app (now
running on the server) seems to be an attractive option. Not wanting to
adopt yet another technology we feel that DCOM my be better than CORBA
since our app objects are already exposed as COM (possibly using
Jintegra as the bridge here).

Making DCOM calls for every action/event on the Applet may not be good
for performance and we are therefore thinking about possibly using a
facade on the applet side. Also, there needs to be some sort of proxy
object on the server to handle the load-balancing and probably security.

Despite the bridging issues, we are convinced that a Java applet
approach may be better than ActiveX due to the Applet size and browser
indepence advantages plus the fact that Java is probably better suited
to this kind of internet/intranet type programming.

Some questions:
1.  Does anybody know of a design pattern we could use for this sort of
architecture?
2.  Is there a way to get DCOM to work through fire walls?
3.  Any comments on the Java applet vs ActiveX approach in the above
scenario (we have quite complex GUI requirements, almost CAD-like)?

Thanks in advance
Xander