The Java Message Service (JMS) defines the standard for
reliable Enterprise Messaging. Enterprise messaging, often also
referred to as Messaging Oriented Middleware (MOM), is universally
recognized as an essential tool for building enterprise applications.
By combining Java technology with enterprise messaging, the JMS API
provides a powerful tool for solving enterprise computing problems.
Enterprise messaging provides a reliable, flexible service for the
asynchronous exchange of critical business data and events throughout
an enterprise. The JMS API adds to this a common API and provider
framework that enables the development of portable, message based
applications in the Java programming language.
The JMS API improves programmer productivity by defining a common set
of messaging concepts and programming strategies that will be supported
by all JMS technology-compliant messaging systems.
The JMS API is an integral part of the
Java 2,
Enterprise Edition (J2EE) platform, and application developers can
use messaging with components using J2EE APIs ("J2EE components").
Version 1.1 of the JMS API in the J2EE 1.4 platform has the following
features:
- Message-driven beans enable the asynchronous consumption
of JMS messages.
- Message sends and receives can participate in Java Transaction API (JTA) transactions.
- J2EE Connector Architecture
interfaces that allow JMS implementations from different vendors to be
externally plugged into a J2EE 1.4 application server.
The addition of the JMS API enhances the J2EE platform by simplifying
enterprise development, allowing loosely coupled, reliable,
asynchronous interactions among J2EE components and legacy systems
capable of messaging. As a developer, you can easily add new behavior
to a J2EE application with existing business events by adding a new
message-driven bean to operate on specific business events.
The J2EE platform's
Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB)
container architecture, moreover, enhances the JMS API in two ways:
- By allowing for the concurrent consumption of messages
- By providing support for distributed transactions, so that
database updates, message processing, and connections to EIS systems
using the J2EE Connector Architecture can all participate in the same
transaction context.
