J2EE Platform Overview

The Application Server implements Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) 1.4 technology which defines the standard for developing multitier enterprise applications. The J2EE platform simplifies enterprise applications by basing them on standardized, modular components, by providing a complete set of services to those components, and by handling many details of application behavior automatically, without complex programming.

J2EE Applications

J2EE applications are made up of components such as JavaServer Pages (JSP), Java servlets, and Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) modules. These components enable software developers to build large-scale, distributed applications. Developers package J2EE applications in Java Archive (JAR) files (similar to zip files), which can be distributed to production sites. Administrators install J2EE applications onto the Application Server by deploying J2EE JAR files onto one or more server instances (or clusters of instances).

The following figure illustrates the components of the J2EE platform discussed in the following sections.

Containers

The J2EE application model divides enterprise applications into three fundamental parts: components, containers, and connectors. Components are the key focus of application developers, while system vendors implement containers and connectors to conceal complexity and promote portability. Containers intercede between clients and components, providing services transparently to both, including transaction support and resource pooling. Container mediation allows many component behaviors to be specified at deployment time, rather than in program code.

In the Application Server, each server instance includes two containers: web and EJB. A container is a runtime environment that provides services such as security and transaction management to J2EE components. Web components, such as Java Server Pages and servlets, run within the web container. Enterprise JavaBeans run within the EJB container.

J2EE Services

The J2EE platform services simplify application programming and allow components and applications to be customized at deployment time to use resources available in the deployment environment. This section gives a brief overview of the J2EE platform naming, deployment, transaction, and security services.The J2EE platform provides services for applications, including:

• Naming -A naming and directory service binds objects to names. A J2EE application can locate an object by looking up its Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) name.

• Security - The Java Authorization Contract for Containers (JACC) is a set of security contracts defined for the J2EE containers. Based on the client’s identity, containers can restrict access to the container’s resources and services.

• Transaction management - A transaction is an indivisible unit of work. For example, transferring funds between bank accounts is a transaction. A transaction management service ensures that a transaction is either completed, or is rolled back.

• Message Service - Applications hosted on separate systems can communicate with each other by exchanging messages using the Java™ Message Service (JMS). JMS is an integral part of the J2EE platform and simplifies the task of integrating heterogeneous enterprise applications.

Web Services

Clients can access a J2EE 1.4 application as a remote web service in addition to accessing it through HTTP, RMI/IIOP, and JMS. Web services are implemented using the Java API for XML-based RPC (JAX-RPC). A J2EE application can also act as a client to web services, which would be typical in network applications.

Web Services Description Language (WSDL) is an XML format that describes web service interfaces. Web service consumers can dynamically parse a WSDL document to determine the operations a web service provides and how to execute them. The Application Server distributes web services interface descriptions using a registry that other applications can access through the Java API for XML Registries (JAXR).

Client Access

Clients can access J2EE applications in several ways. Browser clients access web applications using hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). For secure communication, browsers use the HTTP secure (HTTPS) protocol that uses secure sockets layer (SSL).

Rich client applications running in the Application Client Container can directly lookup and access Enterprise JavaBeans using an Object Request Broker (ORB), Remote Method Invocation (RMI) and the internet inter-ORB protocol (IIOP), or IIOP/SSL (secure IIOP). They can access applications and web services using HTTP/HTTPS, JMS, and JAX-RPC. They can use JMS to send messages to and receive messages from applications and message-driven beans.

Clients that conform to the Web Services-Interoperability (WS-I) Basic Profile can access J2EE web services. WS-I is an integral part of the J2EE standard and defines interoperable web services. It enables clients written in any supporting language to access web services deployed to the Application Server.

The best access mechanism depends on the specific application and the anticipated volume of traffic. The Application Server supports separately configurable listeners for HTTP, HTTPS, JMS, IIOP, and IIOP/SSL. You can set up multiple listeners for each protocol for increased scalability and reliability.

J2EE applications can also act as clients of J2EE components such as Enterprise JavaBeans modules deployed on other servers, and can use any of these access mechanisms.

External Systems and Resources

On the J2EE platform, an external system is called a resource. For example, a database management system is a JDBC resource. Each resource is uniquely identified and by its Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) name. Applications access external systems through the following APIs and components:

• Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) - A database management system (DBMS) provides facilities for storing, organizing, and retrieving data. Most business applications store data in relational databases, which applications access via JDBC. The Application Server includes the PointBase DBMS for use sample applications and application development and prototyping, though it is not suitable for deployment. The Application Server provides certified JDBC drivers for connecting to major relational databases. These drivers are suitable for deployment.

• Java Message Service - Messaging is a method of communication between software components or applications. A messaging client sends messages to, and receives messages from, any other client via a messaging provider that implements the Java Messaging Service (JMS) API. The Application Server includes a high-performance JMS broker, the Sun Java System Message Queue. The Platform Edition of Application Server includes the free Platform Edition of Message Queue. Application Server Enterprise Edition includes Message Queue Enterprise Edition, that supports clustering and failover.

• J2EE Connectors - The J2EE Connector architecture enables integrating J2EE applications and existing Enterprise Information Systems (EIS). An application accesses an EIS through a portable J2EE component called a connector or resource adapter, analogous to using JDBC driver to access an RDBMS. Resource adapters are distributed as standalone Resource Adapter Archive (RAR) modules or included in J2EE application archives. As RARs, they are deployed like other J2EE components. The Application Server includes evaluation resource adapters that integrate with popular EIS.

• JavaMail - Through the JavaMail API, applications can connect to a Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) server to send and receive email.