Programmers Guide: Preface

The following table lists the tasks and concepts that are described in the Netscape Application Server (NAS) and Netscape Application Builder (NAB) printed manuals and online read-me file. If you are trying to accomplish a specific task or learn more about a specific concept, refer to the appropriate manual.

Note that the printed manuals are also available as online files in PDF and HTML format. See the page installdir/nas/docs/index.htm, where installdir is the directory in which you installed NAS.


For information about	See the following	Shipped with
Late-breaking information about the software and the documentation	readme.htm	NAS 4.0 Developer Edition (Solaris), NAS 4.0, NAB 4.0
Installing Netscape Application Server and its various components (Web Connector plug-in, Netscape Application Server Administrator), and configuring the sample applications	Installation Guide	NAS 4.0 Developer Edition (Solaris), NAS 4.0
Installing Netscape Application Builder	install.htm	NAB 4.0
Basic features of NAS, such as its software components, general capabilities, and system architecture	Overview	NAS 4.0 Developer Edition (Solaris), NAS 4.0, NAB 4.0
Deploying Netscape Application Server at your site, by performing the following tasks: Planning your Netscape Application Server environment Integrating the product within your existing enterprise and network topology Developing server capacity and performance goals Running stress tests to measure server performance Fine-tuning the server to improve performance	Deployment Guide	NAS 4.0
Administering one or more application servers using the Netscape Application Server Administrator tool to perform the following tasks: Deploying applications with the Deployment Manager tool Monitoring and logging server activity Setting up users and groups Administering database connectivity Administering transactions Load balancing servers Managing distributed data synchronization	Administration Guide	NAS 4.0
Migrating your applications to the new Netscape Application Server 4.0 programming model from version 2.1, including a sample migration of an Online Bank application provided with Netscape Application Server	Migration Guide	NAS 4.0 Developer Edition (Solaris), NAS 4.0, NAB 4.0
Creating NAS 4.0 applications within an integrated development environment by performing the following tasks: Creating and managing projects Using wizards Creating data-access logic Creating presentation logic and layout Creating business logic Compiling, testing, and debugging applications Deploying and downloading applications Working with source control Using third-party tools	User's Guide	NAB 4.0
Creating NAS 4.0 applications that follow the new open Java standards model (Servlets, EJBs, JSPs, and JDBC), by performing the following tasks: Creating the presentation and execution layers of an application Placing discrete pieces of business logic and entities into Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) components Using JDBC to communicate with databases Using iterative testing, debugging, and application fine-tuning procedures to generate applications that execute correctly and quickly	Programmer's Guide (Java)	NAS 4.0 Developer Edition (Solaris), NAB 4.0
Using the public classes and interfaces, and their methods in the Netscape Application Server class library to write Java applications	Server Foundation Class Reference (Java)	NAS 4.0 Developer Edition (Solaris), NAB 4.0
Creating NAS C++ applications using the NAS class library by performing the following tasks: Designing applications Writing AppLogics Creating HTML templates Creating queries Running and debugging applications	Programmer's Guide (C++)	Order separately
Using the public classes and interfaces, and their methods in the Netscape Application Server class library to write C++ applications	Server Foundation Class Reference (C++)	Order separately

About This Guide

This guide describes how to create applications intended to run on Netscape Application Server.

This guide is intended for information technology developers in the corporate enterprise who want to extend client-server applications to a broader audience through the World Wide Web. In addition to describing programming concepts and tasks, this guide offers sample code, implementation tips, and reference material that includes a glossary.

What You Should Already Know

This guide assumes you are familiar with the following topics:

the Internet and World Wide Web

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

Java programming

JavaSoft APIs as defined in specifications for Enterprise JavaBeans, JavaServer Pages, and JDBC

structured database query languages such as SQL

relational database concepts

software development processes, including debugging and source code control

How This Guide Is Organized

This guide is organized into thirteen chapters and four appendices, loosely arranged into several parts.

The first part provides an overview of the Netscape Application Server programming model and environment. This part includes the following topics:

Chapter 1, "Overview of NAS Applications"

Chapter 2, "Designing NAS Applications"

The next part describes the programming tasks associated with presentation logic and page design. This part includes the following topics:

Chapter 3, "Controlling Applications with Servlets"

Chapter 4, "Presenting Application Pages with JavaServer Pages"

The next part describes the programming tasks associated with business logic and data access. This part includes the following topics:

Chapter 5, "Introducing Enterprise JavaBeans"

Chapter 6, "Using Session EJBs to Manage Business Rules"

Chapter 7, "Building Business Entity EJBs"

Chapter 8, "Handling Transactions with EJBs"

Chapter 9, "Using JDBC for Database Access"

The next part describes issues that affect all parts of an application. This part includes the following topics:

Chapter 10, "Creating Configuration Files"

Chapter 11, "Creating and Managing User Sessions"

Chapter 12, "Writing Secure Applications"

Chapter 13, "Taking Advantage of NAS Features"

Chapter 14, "Inside the Online Bookstore Sample Application"

The appendices include the following reference material:

Appendix A, "Summary of Standard APIs"

Appendix B, "Dynamic Reloading"

Appendix C, "Programming the Web Connector"

Finally, a Glossary and Index are provided.

Documentation Conventions

File and directory paths are given in Windows format (with backslashes separating directory names). For Unix versions, the directory paths are the same, except that slashes are used instead of backslashes to separate directories.

This guide uses URLs of the form:

http://server.domain/path/file.html

In these URLs, server is the name of server on which you run your application; domain is your Internet domain name; path is the directory structure on the server; and file is an individual filename. Italic items in URLs are placeholders.

This guide uses the following font conventions:

The monospace font is used for sample code and code listings, API and language elements (such as function names and class names), file names, pathnames, directory names, and HTML tags.

Italic type is used for book titles, emphasis, variables and placeholders, and words used in the literal sense.

Related Information

Specifications related to the NAS programming model are provided in the directory installdir/nas/docs/javaspec, where installdir refers to the directory in which you installed NAS. You can find a directory of all NAS-related documentation at installdir/nas/docs/index.htm.

The official specifications are maintained at the following URLs. Note that these sites do not necessarily contain the versions of these specifications that are supported by NAS. See the index listed above for links to specification versions supported by NAS.


Servlets	http://java.sun.com/products/servlet
JavaServer Pages (JSPs)	http://java.sun.com/products/jsp
Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs)	http://java.sun.com/products/ejb
Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI)	http://java.sun.com/products/jndi
Java Database Connectivity (JDBC)	http://java.sun.com/products/jdbc

Additionally, we recommend the following resources:

Programming with Servlets and JSPs

Java Servlet Progamming, by Jason Hunter, O'Reilly Publishing

Java Threads, 2nd Edition, by Scott Oaks & Henry Wong, O'Reilly Publishing

The web site http://www.servletcentral.com

Programming with EJBs

Enterprise JavaBeans, by Richard Monson-Haefel, O'Reilly Publishing

The web site http://ejbhome.iona.com

Programming with JDBC

Database Programming with JDBC and Java, by George Reese, O'Reilly Publishing

JDBC Database Access With Java: A Tutorial and Annotated Reference (Java Series), by Graham Hamilton, Rick Cattell, Maydene Fisher