- Application Servers Aren't Difficul
- Application Servers Are Software Platforms
- Application Servers Are Component-Based
- Application Servers Provide Software Interoperability
- Application Servers Have High Levels of Abstraction
- J2EE Is Separate and Distinct from Sun's Application Server
- Application Servers: A Window on the Future of Software
- Conclusion
- References
Application Servers Provide Software Interoperability
One of the foundations of J2EE is XML, increasingly the glue used to join up applications. In a previous article (see Reference [3]), I described how XML is blazing a trail in the network management domain by allowing services to be easily defined and then translated into software. XML will continue to grow in importance as a means of improving interoperability between software, particularly software hosted on application servers.
J2EE also provides support for transactions, which are atomic actions that are grouped together and must either all execute or all be rolled back. An example transaction is using an ATM to withdraw money. If a power cut or a network failure occurs during your transaction, you don't want your account debited more than once unless you've won a lottery or three. So, transaction support is an important element of application server infrastructure, which explains its prominent position in J2EE.