1 Introduction and Roadmap

This chapter describes the contents and organization of this guide—Developing Enterprise JavaBeans, Version 2.1, for Oracle WebLogic Server.

This chapter includes the following sections:

Document Scope and Audience

This document is a resource for software developers who develop applications that include WebLogic Server Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs), version 2.1. It also contains information that is useful for business analysts and system architects who are evaluating WebLogic Server or considering the use of WebLogic Server EJBs for a particular application.

The topics in this document are relevant during the design and development phases of a software project. The document also includes topics that are useful in solving application problems that are discovered during test and pre-production phases of a project.

This document does not address production phase administration, monitoring, or performance tuning. For links to WebLogic Server documentation and resources for these topics, see Related Documentation.

It is assumed that the reader is familiar with Java EE and EJB 2.1 concepts. This document emphasizes the value-added features provided by WebLogic Server EJBs and key information about how to use WebLogic Server features and facilities to get an EJB application up and running.

For information on programming and packaging 3.1 EJBs, see Developing Enterprise JavaBeans for Oracle WebLogic Server.

Guide to this Document

Related Documentation

This document contains EJB-specific design and development information.

For comprehensive guidelines for developing, deploying, and monitoring WebLogic Server applications, see the following documents:

Samples and Tutorials for the EJB Developer

In addition to this document, Oracle provides a variety of code samples and tutorials for EJB developers. The examples and tutorials illustrate WebLogic Server EJBs in action, and provide practical instructions on how to perform key EJB development tasks.

Oracle recommends that you run some or all of the EJB examples before developing your own EJBs.

Avitek Medical Records Application (MedRec) and Tutorials

MedRec is an end-to-end sample Java EE application shipped with WebLogic Server that simulates an independent, centralized medical record management system. The MedRec application provides a framework for patients, doctors, and administrators to manage patient data using a variety of different clients.

MedRec demonstrates WebLogic Server and Java EE features, and highlights Oracle-recommended best practices. MedRec is optionally configured after the WebLogic Server installation in the ORACLE_HOME\user_projects\domains\medrec directory by default, where ORACLE_HOME is the directory you specified as the Oracle home when you installed Oracle WebLogic Server. See Sample Applications and Code Examples in Understanding Oracle WebLogic Server.

MedRec includes a service tier comprised primarily of EJBs that work together to process requests from Web applications, Web services, and workflow applications, and future client applications. The application includes message-driven, stateless session, stateful session, and entity EJBs.

As companion documentation to the MedRec application, Oracle provides tutorials that provide step-by-step procedures for key development tasks, including EJB-specific tasks, such as:

  • Using EJBGen to Generate EJB deployment descriptors

  • Exposing a stateless Session EJB as a Web service

  • Securing EJB resources using the WebLogic Server Administration Console

EJB Examples in the WebLogic Server Distribution

WebLogic Server optionally installs API code examples in the ORACLE_HOME\wlserver\samples\server\examples\src\examples\ejb directory, where ORACLE_HOME represents the directory in which you installed WebLogic Server. See Sample Applications and Code Examples in Understanding Oracle WebLogic Server.

New and Changed Features in This Release

For a comprehensive listing of the new WebLogic Server features introduced in this release, see What's New in WebLogic Server in What's New in Oracle WebLogic Server 12.2.1.3.0.