USER_AGENT

The USER_AGENT configuration parameter specifies the number of seconds the Genero Application Server is to wait for a client request before assuming that the front-end client has died or that there has been a network failure.

Under normal operation, the front-end sends a GET request to the Genero Application Server immediately after receiving a response. The client-side front-end (CSF) will also send keep-alive requests (/wa/ka) to keep the application alive in the case of user inactivity. If the client has not sent a request to the Genero Application Server before the USER_AGENT timeout expires, the Genero Application Server assumes that the front-end client has died and sends an instruction to the application's DVM to shut down.

With the Genero Desktop Client Active X, the USER_AGENT timeout usually does not expire. When the user closes the application, the DVM handling that application is properly shut down.

The USER_AGENT timeout proves to be particularly useful with the Genero Web Client. As with the other front-ends, when a user properly exits an application, the DVM handling that application is properly shut down. When the user does not properly exit the application, the DVM remains alive even though the front-end has died. This can occur with the Genero Web Client when a user closes the browser instead of properly exiting the application; the front-end client has no mechanism to tell the Genero Application Server that the user has closed his browser. With the USER_AGENT timeout, the Genero Application Server closes the socket to the DVM, which causes the DVM to shut down.

<USER_AGENT>300</USER_AGENT>