The Application Developer's Perspective on Java Connector Architecture
2004; Allied Academies; Volume: 7; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1524-7252
Autores Tópico(s)Software System Performance and Reliability
ResumoABSTRACT This research tests the hypothesis that Using the Java Connector Architecture, the application developers realize at least 25% cost-efficiency in building applications which connect new web-applications to the existing enterprise information The integration of new applications with existing enterprise information systems (EIS) is problematic for most corporations throughout the world. EIS vendors have been providing proprietary interfaces as a solution to this problem, but until now no uniform standard architecture has existed. J2EE and its Java Community Process (JCP) partners offer a single and uniform standard, called the Java Connector Architecture (JCA), for integration solution. This study analyzes the main components of the JCA, reviews the abundant vendor support for the JCA and illustrates how applications developers within the IT department use this standard cost-efficiently. The focus of this paper is on the JCA from an application developer's perspective rather than from the vendor's point of view. This study critically evaluates how the JCA meets challenges, such as scalable, transactional, and secure access issues faced by application developers in enterprise application integration (EAI). A small survey is conducted which tests the hypothesis arriving at a conclusion that by using the JCA to link the heterogeneous enterprise information systems with application servers, a company is able to fully leverage its business value and protect its IT infrastructure investment cost-efficiently. INTRODUCTION For successful e-business operations, a company's IT department integrates its new web-based applications with the existing enterprise information systems (EIS). Application developers throughout the world are facing challenges with integrating information and business processes within and between companies. EIS and other vendors provide their own proprietary interfaces with varying levels of support for integration solutions. Unfortunately, there is a lack of standard infrastructure for communicating with disparate systems. To solve this problem, Sun Microsystems and its Java Community Process (JCP) partners provide an industry standard called the J2EE platform. This platform includes numerous J2EE technologies, such as EJB, JMS, JSP, Java Servlet, the Java API for XML processing, RMI-IIOP and JDBC, which ease the difficulty of the EAI. Sun is continually improving its existing technologies while creating new ones. Sun's J2EE platform now includes a new standard for integration, namely the Java Connector Architecture (JCA), in providing connectivity between the J2EE compatible application servers and the existing EIS. The JCA is viewed from both the vendor's and application developer's points of view. From the vendor's perspective, the JCA provides a set of standards concerning connection, transaction and security for building resource adapters, which connect e-business applications with various types of EIS. From the application developer's point of view, the IT department is required to have the knowledge to develop applications according to this standard for integration between the new web-applications and the existing EIS. The objective of this research is to evaluate the cost-efficiency of the JCA from the applications component developer's perspective. RESEARCH METHOD: ITS IMPORTANCE AND SCOPE Research Method: After analyzing JCA's main features and reviewing the reports on the support for its development and implementation given by the business community and different types of vendors, this research evaluates how the JCA meets the challenges faced by application developers in integration solution. A survey is conducted. From the results, this study empirically tests the hypothesis Using the Java Connector Architecture the application developers realize at least 25% cost-efficiency in building applications that connect new web-applications to the existing enterprise information …
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