15 Getting Started with Developing Java EE Applications

This chapter provides an overview of the Java EE tools and technologies available for your application development.

This chapter includes the following sections:

15.1 About Developing Java EE Applications

JDeveloper provides wizards, built in source and visual editors, the Components window and the Properties window, and other features to create, assemble, and reuse your web tier and business components to create and edit your Java EE 6 application components.

JDeveloper comes with a complete package of tools and features to create and edit your Java EE 6 application components. Use the wizards, built in source and visual editors, Components window and Properties window, and other features to create, assemble, and reuse your web tier and business components. You can build, test, and deploy powerful interactive, multitiered applications that perform well on a variety of different platforms, and are easy to maintain.

For information on Java EE see the Oracle Technology Network (OTN) Java EE documentation at: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javaee/overview/ index.html

15.1.1 Java EE and Oracle Application Developer Framework

The Rich client framework of ADF Faces offers a rich library of AJAX-enabled UI components for web applications built with JavaServer Faces.

For the web-tier part of your Java EE application, take advantage of the ADF Faces rich client framework (RCF), which offers a rich library of AJAX-enabled UI components for web applications built with JavaServer Faces (JSF).

The ADF layer enables a unified approach to bind any user interface to any business service, with minimal code. When you build a Java EE application, and/or an EJB project, you can assign ADF data controls on your individual session beans. This adds a data control file with the same name as the bean.

The data control contains all the functionality of the application module. You can then use the representation of the data control displayed in JDeveloper Data Controls panel to create UI components that are automatically bound to the application module.

Using the ADF data control business-tier layer to perform business service access for your EJB projects ensures that the view and the business service stay in sync. For example, you could bypass the model layer and call a method on an application module by class casting the data control reference to the application module instance and then calling the method directly, but this renders the business services unaware of any changes.

See Understanding Oracle Application Development Framework.

15.2 Using Web Page Tools

Use the wizards in the New Gallery to create EJB projects, entities, Java persistence units, session beans, and message-driven beans.

JDeveloper provides you with a wide range of tools to develop the web tier, or frontend of your Java EE applications. You can use wizards to walk you through creating all your HTML, JSP and JavaServer Faces (JSF) /Facelet pages and related files.

In addition, JDeveloper provides web page tools and step-by-step instructions for many of the tasks you will use to develop your web pages. You can build web tier components using all of the supported Java EE web application technologies such as JSF / Facelets, JavaServer Pages (JSP), Java Servlet, HyperText Markup Language (HTML), and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Web components in a Java EE application contain presentation logic and run on the integrated server.

See Developing Applications Using Web Page Tools.

15.3 Using Enterprise JavaBeans and Java Persistence Components

Use JDeveloper tools to develop the web tier, or the frontend of Java EE applications. Use JDeveloper wizards to create HTML, JSP and JavaServer Faces or Facelet pages, and related files.

You can create EJB projects, entities, Java persistence units, session beans, and message-driven beans using wizards in the New Gallery. You can build entities from online or offline database table definitions and from application server data source connections. See Developing with EJB and JPA Components.

15.4 Using Oracle TopLink

Oracle TopLink is an object-persistence and object-transformation framework. The framework provides development tools and run-time capabilities to reduce development and maintenance efforts, and to increase enterprise application functionality.

Oracle TopLink is an object-persistence and object-transformation framework that provides development tools and run-time capabilities that reduce development and maintenance efforts, and increase enterprise application functionality

Use TopLink to configure TopLink descriptors and map Java classes, EJBs, and JPA entities to different data sources, including relational databases, enterprise information systems (EIS), and XML schemas. With the TopLink Editor, you can create this information without writing Java code. The TopLink Editor supports multiple standards, including JPA, JAXB, and Java EE. See Developing Persistence in Applications Using Oracle .

15.5 Understanding Secure Applications

Java EE applications are secured using container-managed security alone. Oracle ADF Security framework provides authentication and authorization services to Fusion web applications.

You can secure Java EE applications using only container-managed security or, for Fusion web applications, Oracle ADF Security. Fusion web applications are Java EE applications that you develop using the Oracle Application Development Framework (Oracle ADF).

The Oracle ADF Security framework is the preferred technology to provide authentication and authorization services to the Fusion web application. The Oracle ADF Security is built on top of the Oracle Platform Security Services (OPSS) architecture, which provides a critical security framework and is itself well-integrated with Oracle WebLogic Server. See Developing Secure Applications.

15.6 Working With Applications That Use XML

JDeveloper provides an XML source editor, an XML validator, and tools for working with XML schemas to work with the XML files in an application. You can also use JDeveloper to create and edit XSQL files.

JDeveloper provides you with the tools you need to work with the XML files in your application. There is an XML source editor, an XML validator, and tools for working with XML schemas. You can also use JDeveloper to create and edit your XSQL files.

You can create your schema documents from scratch, generate schemas from XML documents or vice-versa in JDeveloper. Once your schema is created, manage your elements using the XSD Visual Editor and the Components window. See Developing Applications Using XML.

15.7 Working With Applications That Use Web Services

Web services constitute a set of messaging protocols and programming standards that expose business functions over the internet using open standards. JDeveloper provides tools to manage existing web services, and develop and deploy new web services.

Web services are set of messaging protocols and programming standards that expose business functions over the internet using open standards. A web service is a discrete, reusable software component accessed programmatically to return a response. JDeveloper provides tools to manage existing web services, and develop and deploy new web services.

You can create web services from Java classes, the remote interface of EJBs, and an ADF Business Components service session bean wrapped as an EJB. The Web service wizards create the deployment files for the application servers. See How to Create JAX-WS Web Services (Bottom-up).

JDeveloper also supports a set of standard Java-to-XML type mappings. You can also create custom serializers for unique object types. See Using to Create and Use Web Services.