2002 J2EE Deployathon Online!

Print-friendly Version

Articles Index

Run J2EE Deployathon Online!
Run J2EE Deployathon Online! End to End

Introduction

J2EE Deployathon Online! is a demonstration of application portability across servers that comply with the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE^TM) specifications. The J2EE platform defines the standard for developing multitier enterprise applications. It builds on the base of Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition and adds enterprise technologies such as EJB technology, Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI), and JDBC. The J2EE platform provides "write once, run anywhere" capability for Java components on the server.

If you're new to J2EE, a good place to learn about its capabilities is in the J2EE Tutorial. You can find other J2EE learning materials in the Developer Resources list on the Java2 Platform Enterprise Home Page

One of the important deliverables for the J2EE platform is the Java Blueprints. The Java Blueprints provide an integrated set of documentation and examples that describe and illustrate the best practices for developing and deploying applications using the J2EE platform. There are two Java Blueprints currently available: Enterprise Blueprints and Wireless Blueprints. The Enteprise Blueprints cover best practices for building enterprise applications and Web services using the J2EE platform. The Wireless Blueprints cover best practices for building wireless applications that connect to J2EE servers.

Accompanying both Blueprints is a sample application that illustrates the capabilities of the J2EE platform. The sample application for the Enterprise Blueprints is called Java Pet Store. It demonstrates an e-commerce application for ordering pets. The sample application for the Wireless Blueprints is called Java Smart Ticket. It demonstrates a wireless client-to-enterprise server application for ordering movie tickets. Both applications can be used in J2EE Deployathon Online! You'll be able to run the Java Pet Store application with various J2EE-compliant servers when you run J2EE Deployathon Online!. By doing that, you'll see that the application runs with little or no change. In other words, you'll validate J2EE's promise of portability across servers that implement the J2EE specifications. You'll also be able to run the Java Smart Ticket application with various J2EE-compliant servers when you run J2EE Deployathon Online! end to end. There too you'll see that the application runs with little or no change, and you'll validate that J2EE's promise of portability extends to end-to-end solutions.

Why is Portability Important?

Portability is one of the most attractive aspects of the Java programming language. Applications coded in the Java language can run unchanged in many different types of stand-alone or client operating environments. J2EE extends the portability benefits of the Java language to the enterprise. It allows you to run applications across different types of J2EE-compliant servers. Given the large investment most businesses have in client-server applications, J2EE can save companies a lot of development time and money. With J2EE's portability features, there's little or no need to rewrite code for different servers.

Java Pet Store

Java Pet Store is a sample application that demonstrates the capabilities of the J2EE platform. It's an e-commerce application that enables customers to purchase pets on the Web. Customers can scan the pet store's inventory of pets, add one or more items to their "shopping cart," and then "check out" by confirming the order and supplying billing and shipping information.

Java Pet Store illustrates many of the features of J2EE, such as JavaServer Pages (JSP^TM) and EJB technology. It is also a good example of J2EE application design, one that follows the best practices described in the Enterprise Blueprints. You can examine the source code for the application; it's available with the Java Pet Store download. You download the application as one of the steps when you run J2EE Deployathon Online!

Run J2EE Deployathon Online!

1. Select a J2EE server product from the J2EE Deployathon Online! server list. You can select a server product that conforms to the J2EE 1.2 Platform, or a server product that conforms to the J2EE 1.3 Platform. Selecting a server product, links you to the instructions for setting up and running the Java Pet Store application in the server and platform you select. The instructions cover steps such as downloading, installing, and configuring the server and the application, and describes how to start the application.

   Some of the listed J2EE server products allow you to run the Java Pet Store application immediately, that is, you don't have to do any prior setting up to run the application. These products have the entry "run it now" in the "Live Demo" column. Click on "run it now" to immediately run the Java Pet Store application in that server and platform.

2. After you sucessfully run Java Pet Store in the server of your choice, try running the application in another J2EE server. Select another J2EE server product from the J2EE server list, follow the instructions for setting up and running Java Pet Store in this new server, then start the application. Or run the live demo if available. Notice that the code runs with little or no change. Some changes are required to the source code for some J2EE servers. The changes are described in the instructions for that server. These changes are relatively minor and occur mainly in the area of security. One of the aims of J2EE Deployathon Online! is to continue to improve portability so that no changes are required to J2EE application source code across J2EE servers.

J2EE Deployathon Online! Server List

Select a server product from either the list of J2EE 1.2 server products or J2EE 1.3 server products. All the products in the list have passed either the J2EE 1.2 Compatibility Test Suite (CTS) or J2EE 1.3 CTS to certify their compliance with J2EE 1.2 specifications or J2EE 1.3 specifications, respectively.

J2EE 1.2 Server Products

The servers in this list are enabled for the Java Pet Store 1.1.2 application.

The servers in this list are enabled for the Java Pet Store 1.3_01 application.

J2EE Deployathon Online! Goes End To End

Run the Java Smart Ticket application and validate J2EE's promise of portability across J2EE servers connected to a wireless client.

Java Smart Ticket

Java Smart Ticket is a sample application that allows users to buy movie tickets through a mobile device such as a cell phone. Users can select a movie, chose a theater and showtime, select seats and purchase tickets.

The application illustrates how a Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) client can communicate with a J2EE server to implement an end-to-end, wireless-to-enterprise server solution. The client side of the Java Smart Ticket application presents a user interface that is built using classes in the J2ME Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP). The server side of the application illustrates J2EE features such Java Servlet technology and EJB technology. Java Smart Ticket is a good example of J2ME client-to-J2EE server application design, one that follows the best practices described in the Wireless Blueprints. You run the Java Smart Ticket application when you run J2EE Deployathon Online! end to end.

Run J2EE Deployathon Online! End To End

1. Download the Java Smart Ticket application from the Java Smart Ticket Demo 1.1 Release download page.

   This step is optional:

2. Download the Java Smart Ticket Demo Deployathon Overlay. Follow the instructions in the overlay bundle.

   Perform the following steps only if you did not download the Java Smart Ticket Demo Deployathon Overlay:

3. Configure the Java Smart Ticket client to connect to the J2EE server of your choice. By default, the client is set to connect to a server running on localhost at port 8000. This provides for the client to communicate with a server running in your local machine. If you want the client to connect to a J2EE server participating in the Deployathon, that is, one running on a different machine, you need to do the following:
   • Open the smarticket.jad file in a text editor. You can find this file in the bin subdirectory below the directory in which you installed Smart Ticket. The file contains a list of J2EE server products to which the client can connect, and the host name and port number for each J2EE server product.

   • Look for the following lines in the smarticket.jad file:

     SMARTicket-Servlet-URL: http://localhost:8000/SmarTicketApp/servlet/ SMARTicket-Poster-URL: http://localhost:8000/SmarTicketApp/ SMARTicket-Splash-URL: http://localhost:8000/SmarTicketApp/

     
     Replace all occurrences of localhost and 8000 with the host name and port number of the J2EE server product you choose.

4. Start the client part of the application using the J2ME Wireless Toolkit:

   If you are using Windows:

   • From the Start menu, select Programs, then J2ME Wireless Toolkit 1.0.3, then Run MIDP Application....
   • Using the subsequent file dialog, open the smarticket.jad file.

   If you are using Solaris or Linux:

   • Bring up a shell prompt.
   • Change the current directory to bin subdirectory below the directory in which you installed Smart Ticket.
   • Enter the following command:

     $J2MEWTK_HOME/bin/emulator \
     -Xdescriptor:smarticket.jad
     

   A phone emulator will appear, showing the Java Smart Ticket Demo splash screen.

J2EE Server List for Smart Ticket Demo

Select a server product for connection by the Smart Ticket client. Then specify the host name and port number of the J2EE server product you select in the smarticket.jad file.

A Note About J2EE-Compatible Products

Only products that have been tested successfully against the CTS can be called J2EE-compatible products. For a list of J2EE-compatible products see the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition Compatibility page.

Support

The j2eeblueprints interest list is the place to get answers to questions about running J2EE Deployathon Online! To join the interest list, send an email to listserv@java.sun.com. Specify subscribe j2eeblueprints-interest yourlastname yourfirstname in the body of the email.

About the Authors

The Sun Deployathon team comprises several groups in Sun that work in conjunction with key software vendors and Java Licensees to demonstrate the portability of the Java platform

Back to Top

Have a question about programming? Use Java Online Support.