Configuring TRemoteDataModule
Go Up to Setting Up the Data Module
To add a TRemoteDataModule component to your application, choose File > New > Other and select Remote Data Module from the Multitier page of the new items dialog. You will see the Remote Data Module Wizard.
You must supply a class name for your remote data module. This is the base name of a descendant of TRemoteDataModule that your application creates. It is also the base name of the interface for that class. For example, if you specify the class name MyDataServer, the wizard creates a new unit declaring TMyDataServer, a descendant of TRemoteDataModule, which implements IMyDataServer, a descendant of IAppServer.
Note: You can add your own properties and methods to the new interface. For more information, see Extending the application server's interface.
You must specify the threading model in the Remote Data Module wizard. You can choose Single-threaded, Apartment-threaded, Free-threaded, or Both.
- If you choose Single-threaded, COM ensures that only one client request is serviced at a time. You do not need to worry about client requests interfering with each other.
- If you choose Apartment-threaded, COM ensures that any instance of your remote data module services one request at a time. When writing code in an Apartment-threaded library, you must guard against thread conflicts if you use global variables or objects not contained in the remote data module. This is the recommended model if you are using BDE-enabled datasets. (Note that you will need a session component with its AutoSessionName property set to True to handle threading issues on BDE-enabled datasets).
- If you choose Free-threaded, your application can receive simultaneous client requests on several threads. You are responsible for ensuring your application is thread-safe. Because multiple clients can access your remote data module simultaneously, you must guard your instance data (properties, contained objects, and so on) as well as global variables. This is the recommended model if you are using ADO datasets.
- If you choose Both, your library works the same as when you choose Free-threaded, with one exception: all callbacks (calls to client interfaces) are serialized for you.
- If you choose Neutral, the remote data module can receive simultaneous calls on separate threads, as in the Free-threaded model, but COM guarantees that two threads do not access the same method at the same time.
If you are creating an .EXE, you must also specify what type of instancing to use. You can choose Single instance or Multiple instance (Internal instancing applies only if the client code is part of the same process space.)
- If you choose Single instance, each client connection launches its own instance of the executable. That process instantiates a single instance of the remote data module, which is dedicated to the client connection.
- If you choose Multiple instance, a single instance of the application (process) instantiates all remote data modules created for clients. Each remote data module is dedicated to a single client connection, but they all share the same process space.