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Release Notes

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WebLogic Server 7.0 Features and Changes

Welcome to BEA WebLogic Server 7.0 Service Pack (SP1)! As the leading Web application server, WebLogic ServerTM implements J2EE 1.3 technologies, Web services, and other leading Internet standards to provide a reliable framework for highly available, scalable, and secure applications. WebLogic Server's seamless integration of disparate, heterogeneous platforms and applications enables your network to leverage existing software investments and share the enterprise-class services and data that are crucial to building mission-critical E-Business applications.

WebLogic Server 7.0 SP1 is the latest version of WebLogic Server 7.0 . For details on the differences between WebLogic Server 7.0 and WebLogic Server 7.0 SP1, see section: WebLogic Server 7.x Release Information.

The following sections describe the new features and major improvements made in WebLogic Server 7.0 release.

 


What's New in WebLogic Server 7.0 SP1

BEA WebLogic Server offers the following new features in these areas:

New from WebLogic Server 7.0 Platform Editoin

WebLogic Server 7.0 Platform Edition, released on June 28, 2002 incorporated two new features that are i ncluded in WebLogic Server 7.0 SP1. See WebLogic Server 7.x Release Information for more details

Web Services

Service Pack 1 of WebLogic Web services includes the following new Ant tasks:

In addition, the servicegen Ant task has the following new attributes used to assemble a JMS-implemented Web service:

For reference information about these Ant tasks, see Web Service Ant Tasks and Command-Line Utilities.

Note: The wsdl2Service Ant task is a prelimary implementation and has not been fully tested in this release.

WebLogic jDriver for Oracle 9.2.0

With the release of WebLogic Server 7.0 Service Pack 1, WebLogic jDriver for Oracle version 9.2.0 and Oracle Thin Driver version 9.2.0 are certified for use with WebLogic Server 7.0. You can use these drivers to connect to an Oracle 9.2.0 database and create database connections in a JDBC connection pool.

For more information, see the following related documents:

 


Features of WebLogic Server 7.0

WebLogic Server supports these features and more.

Clustering

Many standard WebLogic services can be offered in a highly available, fail-safe environment with the use of WebLogic Server clustering. See Using WebLogic Server Clusters.

WebLogic EJB 2.0

WebLogic Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) is the J2EE standard for building server-side business logic. Support is included for in-memory replication of stateful EJBs. See Programming WebLogic Enterprise JavaBeans.

Developer Tools

WebLogic Server 7.0 SP01 provides access to the following developer tools:

WebLogic Workshop

WebLogic Workshop is a visual development environment for building enterprise-class web service applications. You can focus on building business logic into your web service rather than complex implementation details. It has controls that provides you with a simple way to connect to enterprise resources like databases and Enterprise JavaBeans. and other web services.

WebLogic Builder

WebLogic Builder is a visual environment for editing an application's deployment descriptor XML files. You can view descriptor files while you visually edit them in WebLogic Builder, and you won't need to make textual edits to the XML files.

JavaMail

WebLogic Server 7.0 includes an implementation of the JavaMail Specification. This is the standard reference implementation of the JavaMail Specification. See Developing WebLogic Server Applications.

JMS

Java Message Service (JMS) for WebLogic is the J2EE standard for building transactional messaging. Clustered JMS is also supported. See Programming WebLogic JMS.

J2EE Connector Architecture

BEA WebLogic Server continues to build upon the implementation of the Sun Microsystems J2EE Platform Specification, Version 1.3 by supporting the J2EE Connector architecture. The BEA WebLogic J2EE Connector architecture enables you to connect existing legacy applications to the J2EE platform. The goal is to leverage the strengths of the J2EE platform—including component models, transaction, and security infrastructures—to address the challenges of integrating existing legacy applications.

The connector architecture defines a common interface between application servers and legacy applications, implemented in application specific resource adapters that plug in to application servers. The result is simplified enterprise application integration, using a scalable, standard architecture that leverages the benefits of the J2EE platform.

See Programming the WebLogic J2EE Connector Architecture.

JDBC

WebLogic Java Database Connectivity (JDBC)provides database access, including the use of JDBC multipools. See Programming WebLogic JDBC.

JSP

WebLogic Java Server Pages (JSP) is the J2EE standard for building Web presentation logic. See Programming WebLogic JSP.

JTA

WebLogic Java Transaction API (JTA) is the J2EE standard API for transactions with databases, messaging systems, and legacy applications. See Programming WebLogic JTA.

RMI and RMI over IIOP

WebLogic Remote Method Invocation (RMI) is the J2EE standard for distributed object computing. RMI-IIOP extends RMI to work across the IIOP protocol. In a Java-to-Java paradigm this allows you to program against the standardized Internet-Interop-Orb-Protocol (IIOP). If you are not working in a Java-only environment, it enables your Java programs to interact with Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) clients and execute CORBA objects. CORBA clients can be written in a variety of languages (including C++) and use the Interface-Definitio-Language (IDL) to interact with a remote client. See Programming WebLogic RMI and Programming WebLogic RMI-IIOP .

Servlets

Servlets are server-side Java programs that generate dynamic Web pages for interactive, highly personalized Web-based applications. See Programming WebLogic Servlets.

SNMP

WebLogic Server 7.0 can function as a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agent. The WebLogic SNMP agent runs as a service that responds to requests from SNMP managers and sends SNMP trap notifications to SNMP managers. The WebLogic SNMP agent uses standard Java Management Extension (JMX) interfaces to access WebLogic resources. See WebLogic SNMP Management Guide

Web Services

Web services are a type of service that can be shared by and used as components of distributed Web-based applications. They commonly interface with existing back-end applications, such as customer relationship management systems, and order-processing systems. See Programming WebLogic Web Services.

WebLogic-Tuxedo Interoperability

WebLogic Server provides the ability to interoperate between WebLogic Server applications and Tuxedo services.

WebLogic Tuxedo Connector

WebLogic Tuxedo Connector (WTC) provides interoperability between WebLogic Server applications and Tuxedo ATMI, CORBA Java, and CORBA C++ server applications. WTC tBridge functionality provides Tuxedo /Q and JMS advanced messaging services. See the WebLogic Tuxedo Connector Guide.

BEA WebLogic C++ Client

WebLogic Server 7.0 interoperates with C++ clients using the Tuxedo 8.0 C++ Client ORB. Tuxedo release 8.0 RP 56 and above is required. Contact your BEA Service Representative for information on how to obtain the Tuxedo C++ Client ORB. For more information on how WebLogic Server interoperates with a Tuxedo C++ Client ORB, see the Developing RMI-IIOPApplication with Tuxedo and Tuxedo Clients.

Web-based System Management

WebLogic Server supports administrative domains for centralized management, dynamic configuration of key attributes, system monitoring, and improved logging. These features, coupled with the JMX-based Management Console, make it easier for you to configure, monitor, and analyze your applications. You can access the Console from the Start menu. For more information, see the Administration Guide.

Other J2EE Standards

XML

WebLogic Server supports your XML applications with improved parsing and helpful tools. XML is a simplified version of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) and is a an industry standard for delivering content on the Internet. Because it provides a facility to define new tags, XML is also extensible. See Programming WebLogic XML.

Internationalization and Localization

The internationalized message catalog makes it easier for you to provide localized error messages. See the Internationalization Guide.

 


Other Available Resources

Here are some pointers to useful information related to this release. The hyperlinks require Internet access.

Fast Track Procedures

High-level procedures to help you quickly deploy an HTML file, JSPs, and servlets, are available at http://e-docs.bea.com/wls/docs70/quickstart/quick_start.html.

Pet Store 1.3

The Pet Store sample application demonstrates WebLogic Server features. It is available from the Start menu in the directory where you installed WebLogic Server 7.0 SP1.

Examples

Code examples, if installed, are located in the SAMPLES_HOME\server\src\examples directory of your WebLogic Server installation, where SAMPLES_HOME is the location of all examples for the WebLogic Platform. By default, this location is c:\bea\weblogic700\samples. Examples are also available from the Start menu for Windows users.

Introduction

For an overview of WebLogic Server features and the J2EE application architecture, see Introduction to WebLogic Server.

Additional Documentation

The full documentation set for BEA WebLogic Server, including administration, programming, and reference guides, is provided on the BEA WebLogic Server Online Documentation CD-ROM and on the BEA Web site at http://e-docs.bea.com/index.html.

Newsgroups

BEA WebLogic Server newsgroups provide community support for BEA products. Information about BEA-related newsgroups can be found at http://newsgroups.bea.com/ and news://newsgroups.bea.com.

Dev2Dev Online

The BEA site Dev2Dev Online provides resources to make your e-commerce development easier and faster. To reach Dev2Dev online, go to http://dev2dev.bea.com/.

 

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