Why isn't the regular JMS connection-factory a Resource Adapter ?

[vbchin2]

HornetQ Team:

Please help me understand why the plain vanilla connection-factory isn't modeled as a Resource Adapter in JBoss AS 7 HornetQ the way pooled-connection-factory is.  I understand that a pooled-connection-factory, because it is modeled as a Resource Adapter, helps when one needs the features of the Java EE outbound contracts.

When there exists such obvious benefits of using such connection factory modeled after a JEE Resource Adapter, why isn't the regular JMS connection-factory a RA too ? Is it left out to exist the way it is to be backwards compatible with earlier JEE specifications.

I am sure I am missing something very fundamental, so please enlighten me with a reply (or replies) and/or link(s) to any documentation.

Thanks,

(PS: Apologies in advance if you are left feeling disgusted after reading my question )

[jbertram]

The main reason both exist is because different clients have different needs.  For example, clients that run inside the container need certain things and clients that run outside the container need others.

One main reason that plain JMS connection factories are available is for remote clients.  A remote client can look-up a plain JMS connection factory and use it to connect to the server.  This is not true of JCA based JMS connection factories.  They are only usable from within the container.

Local clients (i.e. those running within the container) often operate in the context of a JTA transaction so they need a JCA based JMS connection factory so the JMS work is automatically enlisted in the ongoing JTA transaction.  In this way multiple operations involving multiple resources can be combined into a single transaction with atomic commit and rollback across all resources.  This functionality is facilitated by the EJB, JTA, JMS, and JCA specifications.

There are other reasons, but that's the basic stuff.

[jbertram]

Also, it might help to read Messaging configuration - WildFly 8.

[vbchin2]

Thanks for the detailed reply Justin! Much appreciated!