The driving force behind the evolution of software development has always been laziness: Why code something if it's already been coded?
That basic idea underlies the application server, a software container tricked out with all the tedious application plumbing no one wants to write--plus a run-time environment that enables components you've built yourself to be used by multiple applications.
Last November, I wrote about the epic struggle between BEA and IBM over the application server market. Yet those two companies--even though they've staked out between one-half and two-thirds of Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition (J2EE) territory--aren't the only ones in the game.
I predict that this year, competition will open up for two reasons: major revisions to the J2EE specification and the continuing emergence of strong alternative products.
Every time the J2EE spec shifts, the list of app server winners and losers reshuffles a bit, in part because a J2EE "point revision" is usually substantial. The latest version, published last September as J2EE 1.3, details major new chunks of platform functionality. (At this writing, only one application server vendor, the relatively obscure Pramati, has earned official 1.3 certification from Sun; by the next JavaOne conference in March, Sun expects most of the 34 vendors that license J2EE to have received 1.3 certification for their app servers.)
With 1.3, the emphasis is on application integration--particularly with legacy apps--in a strategic move by Java proponents to drive application servers deeper into the heart of the enterprise:
Java Connector Architecture (JCA) 1.0. JCA offers a new, simplified component library that developers can use to integrate Java apps with databases, ERP software, and legacy systems. Over the next year or so, JCA will foster a new class of easy-to-build adapter, enabling application servers to shoulder much of the burden now carried by pricey enterprise application integration software.
Java Messaging Service (JMS) 1.0.2. This latest version of JMS introduces the Message-Driven Bean (MDB), a component that communicates with other apps or components through asynchronous messaging. MDBs' loosely coupled interaction is ideal for integration with legacy systems.
Enterprise Java Beans (EJB) 2.0. EJB 2.0 improves on a property known as Container Managed Persistence (CMP), which introduces a layer of abstraction between EJBs and the database schema. The latest version of CMP is far less clunky than in the previous version, enabling developers to build EJBs with the proper database connections much faster than before.
Amazingly, J2EE 1.3 doesn't address Web services, which Sun says will be the main focus of J2EE 1.4 (to be published at some unspecified date this year). This omission is one reason the major application server vendors have already begun implementing Web services support as they see fit--a key point of differentiation among products, but also a potential gotcha when J2EE 1.4 finally emerges. (A final draft of Java Specification Request 109, which should form the basis of 1.4's Web services support, is due out in February.)
As the Java Community Process hammers out new spec revisions, app server software surges ahead. Last summer, when Oracle jettisoned its crummy application server and replaced it with IronFlare's Orion (dubbed Oracle 9i Application Server Release 2), Larry and Co. instantly got back in the game. So did Hewlett-Packard in November of last year, when it began offering its slick new HP Application Server 8.0 free of charge, no strings attached. Rattling things further, Microsoft will be wedging itself into the back office with its .Net framework, promising functionality similar to that of J2EE.
If you haven't already standardised on an application server vendor, now's the time to take a fresh look. All the contenders offer free evaluation downloads, so allocate some developer time to examine what's out there: which products lead the way in J2EE compliance; which integrate with the slickest IDE; which have the best suites of integration, portal, wireless, commerce, security, and development servers. And don't forget to compare implementations of such basics as permissions management, deployment features, transaction monitoring, and versioning--all of which tend to be neglected as vendors scramble to add the whizzy stuff.
While some vendors, such as ATG, have thrown in the towel, others seem ready for at least one more major battle. SilverStream is still kicking with its eXtend line, which does a terrific job of supporting Web services. Sun's iPlanet line is due for a much-anticipated overhaul. And for Sybase shops, even EAServer is a viable, up-to-date option. Watch how all these contenders respond to J2EE 1.3 and 1.4. How they execute in this critical year may help you determine once and for all which platform to stick with.
