Architecture of the Sample Application

by Sean Brydon

At this point, you should have a good understanding not only of the J2EE platform and its technologies but also how best to apply these technologies in your application. This chapter pulls it all together to show recommended approaches to designing an entire application.

This chapter presents the high-level architecture for the sample Java Pet Store application and demonstrates the approach to designing some key aspects of this application. The focus is on common enterprise application architectural issues and solutions using J2EE technology, especially as implemented in the sample application. You should view this as a guideline to good design for applications built for the J2EE platform environment. Keep in mind that these are guidelines and suggested approaches. You may find that some aspects work well for you and some are not as applicable.

The chapter begins with a description of some of the J2EE architectural approaches and the J2EE design patterns. It also examines the design issues common to all J2EE applications. These architectural concepts form the basis for the design of the sample application. After covering these concepts, the chapter presents an overview of the sample application. Then, it examines the key design approaches used in the sample application itself.