Automation and Scheduling

Headless Client Plugin Guide / Batch Processor / Scheduler

Headless Client

Overview

A headless client is a server-side client session that operates without an interface (UI), allowing you to automate tasks that do not require interaction from end-users. It can be configured to have a logged-in user account and perform long-running or background tasks, making it essential for server-side operations that don’t need real-time interaction.

The Servoy Headless Client cannot be started by users directly, but need to be instantiated through code.

From within a Servoy solution this can be done through the Headless Client plugin, otherwise Headless Clients can be instantiated through the Servoy Public API in JSP pages for example.

Use Cases

• Automating background processes: Useful for backend operations like data processing, reporting, or server-side jobs.

• Running long-duration tasks: Ideal for processes that take significant time and don’t need real-time interaction.

• Parallelized workloads: By spawning multiple headless clients, you can handle several tasks in parallel, improving processing efficiency.

Approaches

There are three main approaches to automating tasks using the headless client:

• Batch Processor: Best for tasks that start automatically when the server is launched.

• Headless API: Allows starting and managing headless clients from within another session.

• Scheduler API: Provides the ability to schedule tasks at specific times or intervals.