Chapter 8. User clients 191
Consider the following items when you choose Content Navigator or other clients:
/SM590000The viewers that are provided by Content Navigator are limited compared to the Windows 
client.
/SM590000A Content Manager OnDemand client that focuses only on Content Manager OnDemand 
is probably the easiest to maintain.
/SM590000A general Enterprise Content Manager Client, such as Content Navigator, with setup 
specifications that support the Content Manager OnDemand model and capabilities, might 
increase the dependency footprint of the client tier while it provides access to other 
systems through the same user interface. 
Developing your own client
When you develop your own applications (web client), you can use the ODWEK Java APIs. 
For more information about the ODWEK APIs, see 8.3.1, “Content Manager OnDemand Web 
Enablement Kit” on page 202 and IBM Content Manager OnDemand Web Enablement Kit 
Java APIs: The Basics and Beyond, SG24-7646.
If you are developing a Windows application, you optionally can use the Object Linking and 
Embedding (OLE) (ActiveX Control) API, which is provided by the Windows client. This API 
requires a Windows client installation.
Another option is to use an intermediate API that is based on the ODWEK Java API for the 
Content Manager OnDemand access portion. Content Management Interoperability Services 
(CMIS) or other web services can be used as the intermediate API. The web service 
application uses ODWEK to access Content Manager OnDemand and relays this access 
through its own web services to any other application. In this case, the Windows application 
only needs to talk to the web service. For more information about CMIS and its limitations, 
see 8.3.2, “Content Management Interoperability Services” on page 204.
The use of an intermediate API increases complexity and potentially decreases performance, 
but it decouples a Windows application and Content Manager OnDemand in terms of API 
versioning and requiring a Content Manager OnDemand installation.
8.1.3  Client compatibility
During the development history of Content Manager OnDemand, features were added and 
internal API schemes were changed. Therefore, not every client level can work with every 
server level. When you choose a client infrastructure for your Content Manager OnDemand 
environment, you must consider version dependencies.
Client compatibility matrix
At the API level, all user clients share a common API core that is based on the Windows client 
and ODWEK. Almost all other client and API implementations are based on these common 
APIs. An up-to-date overview of the compatibility matrix that shows the client and ODWEK 
level that can work with each server level is available at the following website:
http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21392275
Determining version levels
Especially on IBM i and IBM z Systems, the server release level might not be obvious, 
because it is set by program temporary fixes (PTFs). The most convenient way to determine 
the server level of your Content Manager OnDemand system is to log on to either the 
Administrator Client or the user Windows client. After you are logged on, the clients show the 
server version in the status bar, as shown in Figure 8-1 on page 192.