The new version of Sun Microsystems' highly sought-after Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) is focused on the enhancement of the development process. The J2EE v 1.3 beta 2 Software Development Kit (SDK) also features new specifications by the Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB), which makes for interoperability and portability to a wider audience of developers.
The EJB 2.0 specification simplifies the development process, making it easier for developers to focus on business logic. It provides enhanced support to programmers, including cross-platform portability, ease of development and deployment and enhanced performance.
"With the its new EJB architecture, the J2EE platform greatly simplifies connectivity between applications and databases. Combined with its enhanced XML, messaging and integration support, the J2EE platform allow developers to build portable, database-independent applications," says Peter Castle, senior systems engineer at Sun Microsystems SA.
He explains that programmers can in future spend less time coding and focus on delivering quality business products faster.
Sun worked with 23 other companies within the Java Community Process to finalise the new EJB 2.0 specification. This expert group includes Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Borland Software and Fujitsu Limited.
Castle comments that Sun's work with the Java Community Process emphasises the company's ongoing commitment towards the open standards that give developers and end-users the freedom to choose from best of breed business solutions.
"The program provides an open process that enables the industry to build on the success of Java technology in delivering powerful integration solutions for simplified development."
Overall, the latest J2EE SDK provides Web service developers greater XML support and improved portability and interoperability among J2EE servers. This makes it possible for a wider audience of developers to take advantage of the 'write once, run anywhere' benefits of the Java platform.
To date, the J2EE SDK has been downloaded more than 100 000 times. "The number of J2EE licensees that are now branded compatible has more than doubled this year, from nine companies in 2000 to a total 20 in 2001, demonstrating the overwhelming demand for J2EE compatible products," says Castle.
For more information on J2EE v 1.3 Beta 2 or to download the latest version log onto www.java.sun.com.
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- . World-class support for freedom of choice between multiple tools, databases, applications servers, networks, storage devices, and vendors.
- . Integration with Java Messaging Service (JMS) through Message Driven Enterprise JavaBeans, for legacy data and multi-client interoperability.
- . Improved container-managed persistence for ease of data modelling and portability.
- . A query language for rapidly finding and exchanging information.
- . EJB relationship support for faster deployment and improved performance.
- . Increased network interoperability support for EJB components through Internet Inter-ORB Protocol (IIOP), an object-oriented protocol that allows distributed programs written in different programming languages to interoperate.
The J2EE v 1.3 beta 2 SDK also features enhanced XML support through a variety of robust APIs. (API refers to Application Programming Interface, the specific method by which a computer program can make requests of its operating system or another application.)
These enhancements include:
- Implementation-independent support for parsing and transforming XML documents with the Java API for XML Parsing (JAXP), giving "plug and play" support for a variety of available parsers.
- XML translation and filter support for dynamic web publishing based on Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages technologies.
- The new J2EE SDK also provides expanded support for the JMS API, including:
- Support for building asynchronous applications, which allow business processes within an application to operate independently and hand-off tasks as needed.
- Core support for Message Oriented Middleware (MOM) that has attracted messaging vendors, including Sonic Software and Talarian, to produce J2EE compatible products. In addition, top vendors of J2EE compatible application servers including BEA, Borland Software, Brokat Technologies, IBM, iPlanet, Macromedia, Oracle, and Silverstream have all developed JMS technology-based messaging products.
Enhanced legacy and integration support through J2EE Connector Architecture includes:
- A standard for integrating back-end applications, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Resource Management (CRM) systems, to "plug and play" with any J2EE 1.3 platform-compatible application server.
- Support to enable application server vendors to leverage resource adapters for connectivity to various enterprise information systems (EISs), eliminating costly and time consuming custom integration of these applications.
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