The apparatus includes a base client module and a server module. The base client module receives requests from a client application on a client computer. The base client module calls a resource of a web application. A server module transparently interacts with the logic of the web application to obtain the requested data and sends it back to the base client in a format handled by the base client. The base client can then reformat the data to a client application requested format before passing the data to the client application. This method allows a client application programmer to obtain easily usable data from a web application by using the base client.