Packaging and Deployment

The J2EE^TM platform enables developers to create different parts of their applications as reusable components. The process of assembling components into modules and modules into enterprise applications is called packaging. In good software design, reusable components can be customized to the operational environment. The process of installing and customizing an application in an operational environment is called deployment. To enable customization, the components of an application need to be configurable. However, application developers should not have to reinvent a configuration mechanism over and over again. They need a standard mechanism that provides flexibility for configuration and supports tools to help the process.

The J2EE platform provides facilities to make the packaging and deployment process simple. It uses JAR files as the standard package for modules and applications, and XML-based deployment descriptors for customizing components and applications. This chapter begins by providing an overview of the J2EE packing and deployment process. It describes how to perform each stage in the process and provides guidelines for each stage. It concludes by discussing requirements for tools that support the deployment process.

In this chapter:

• Roles and Tasks
• Packaging J2EE Applications
• Deployment Descriptors
• Deployment Tools
• Summary
• Questions and Answers