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   Using BEA Jolt

JoltBeans consists of two sets of Java Beans. The first set, the JoltBeans toolkit, is a beans version of the Jolt API. The second set consists of GUI beans, which include Jolt-aware AWT beans and Jolt-aware Swing beans. These GUI components are a "Jolt-enabled" version of some of the standard Java AWT and Swing components, and help you build a Jolt client GUI with minimal or no coding.

You can drag and drop JoltBeans from the component palette of a development tool and position them on the Java form (or forms) of the Jolt client application you are creating. You can populate the properties of the beans and graphically establish event source-listener relationships between various beans of the application or applet. Typically, the development tool is used to generate the event hook-up code, or you can code the hook-up manually. Client development using JoltBeans is integrated with the BEA Jolt Repository, providing easy access to available BEA Tuxedo services.

Note: Currently, Symantec Visual Café 3.0 is the only IDE that is certified by BEA for use with JoltBeans. However, JoltBeans are also compatible with other Java development environments such as Visual Age.

To use the JoltBeans toolkit, it is recommended that you be familiar with JavaBeans-enabled, integrated development environments (IDEs). The walkthrough in this chapter is based on Symantec's Visual Café 3.0 IDE and illustrates the basic steps of building a sample applet.

You will encounter the following terms as you work with JoltBeans:

JavaBeans

Portable, platform-independent, reusable software components that are graphically displayed in a development environment.

JoltBeans

Two sets of Java Beans: JoltBeans toolkit and Jolt aware GUI beans.

Custom GUI element

A Java GUI class that communicates with JoltBeans. The means of communication can be JavaBeans events, methods, or properties offered by JoltBeans.

Jolt-Aware Bean

A bean that is the source of JoltInputEvents, listener of JoltOutputEvents, or both. Jolt-aware beans are a subset of Custom GUI elements that follow beans guidelines.

Jolt-Aware GUI Beans

Two packages of GUI components Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT) and Swing, both containing the JoltList, JoltCheckBox, JoltTextField, JoltLabel, and JoltChoice components.

JoltBeans Toolkit

A JavaBeans-compliant interface to BEA Jolt, which includes the JoltServiceBean, JoltSessionBean, and JoltUserEventBean.

Wiring

The process of connecting beans together so that one bean is registered as a listener of events from another bean.

Before you can use JoltBeans, set up your Java development environment to include JoltBeans:

• Set the class path in your development environment to include all Jolt classes.

• Add JoltBeans to the Component Library of your development environment.

The method of setting the CLASSPATH can vary, depending on the development environment you use.

JoltBeans includes a set of .jar files containing all of the JoltBeans. You can add these .jar files to your preferred Java development environment so that JoltBeans are available in the component library of your Java tool. For example, using Symantec Visual Café, you can set the CLASSPATH so that the .jar files are visible in the Component Library window of Visual Café. You only need to set the CLASSPATH of these .jar files in your development environment once. After you place these .jar files in the CLASSPATH of your development environment, you can then add JoltBeans to the Component Library. Then you can simply drag and drop any JoltBean directly onto the Java form on which you are developing your Jolt client application.

To set the CLASSPATH in your Java development environment, follow the instructions in the product documentation for your development environment. Navigate from the IDE of your development tool to the directory where the jolt.jar file resides. The jolt.jar file is typically found in the directory called %TUXDIR%\udatadoj\jolt. The jolt.jar file contains the main Jolt classes. Set the CLASSPATH to include these classes. The JoltBean .jar files do not need to be added to the CLASSPATH. To use them, you only need to add them as components in your IDE.

After you have set the CLASSPATH to include the Jolt classes, you can add JoltBeans to the Component Library of your development environment. See the documentation for your particular development environment for instructions on populating the Component Library.

When you are ready to add JoltBeans to the Component Library of your development environment, add only the development version of JoltBeans. Refer to Using Development and Run-time JoltBeans for complete details.

The .jar files containing JoltBeans contain two versions of each JoltBean, a development version and a run-time version. The development version of each JoltBean name ends with the suffix Dev. The run-time version of each class name ends with the suffix Rt. For example, the development version of the class, JoltBean, is JoltBeanDev, while the run-time version of the same class is JoltBeanRt.

Use the development version of JoltBeans during the development process. The development JoltBeans have additional properties that enhance development in a graphic IDE. For example, the JoltBeans have graphic properties ("bean information") that allow you to work with them as graphic icons in your development environment.

The run-time version of JoltBeans does not have these additional properties. You do not need the additional development properties of the beans at run-time. The run-time beans are simply a pared down version of the development JoltBeans.

When you compile your application in your development environment, it is compiled using the development beans. However, if you want to run it from a command line outside of your development environment, it is recommended that you set the CLASSPATH so that the run-time beans are used when compiling your application.