| |
|
WebLogic 9.0 takes J2EE to a new level of reliability and scalability |
|
|
|
Written by Content Team
|
|
May 29, 2005 at 06:56 PM |
|
Page 2 of 7
IndicThreads >>What is BEA's take on open source? Do you see open source as a major competitor to commercial vendors like BEA?
Jesper Joergensen >> There are many different types of open source projects driven by different goals and motivations. Some of these are of minor importance to the industry while others serve as a mechanism for reusability and rationalization across the industry and these play an important role for BEA.
Once a certain computing problem has been solved enough times by different people writing different software implementations, it makes sense to collaborate on one common implementation. The problem is so well understood that everyone can agree on one way to solve it. Open source has proven to be a good vehicle for such collaboration with Linux and the Apache web server being the two oldest and most mature examples of this.
BEA expects this trend to continue and we are actively engaging in open source projects to improve our own efficiency and to contribute to the community.
"We (BEA) are actively engaging in open source projects
to improve our own efficiency and to contribute to the community..."
Almost two years ago, BEA made a significant contribution to the open source community by donating XML Beans. It?s a great example of a well-understood problem (XML processing and Java binding) where everyone can benefit from using the same implementation.
Since then, BEA has additionally donated our new J2EE programming model under the project name Apache Beehive, and recently we decided to move our IDE platform named WebLogic Workshop to the Eclipse framework and become a major contributor to Eclipse.
When it comes to the application server itself, the problem becomes more complicated. The app server is not just a piece of code. It is a runtime environment that must work flawlessly while running any type of application in any type of environment. This is an incredibly complex task and only through a decade of maturation has WebLogic Server reach the level of reliability, scalability and ease of use that it has today.
"It (application server) is a runtime environment
that must work flawlessly while running any type of application
in any type of environment...."
BEA intends to embrace open source components that can be leveraged in the application server or replace parts of it, as long as all the necessary requirements can be met. Open source, applied correctly, is a way to improve efficiency in the software manufacturing process. But as with most other popular ?trends?, it is important to avoid the hype and stick to the facts when making such decisions.
"It is important to avoid the hype and stick to the facts...."
IndicThreads >> Thanks to the J2EE certifications, a lot of developers think that all application servers that are J2EE certified, are more or less the same. Do you think this perception is correct? The cost, availability of skills and the 'cool' factor seem to be playing a bigger role in deciding which application server to go for than the actual features of the server.
Jesper Joergensen >> It is certainly not true that all J2EE certified application servers are ?the same?. Just take a look at SPECjAppServer benchmarks to see how they perform differently and take a look at what kind of support is offered for each of them by looking at documentation web sites etc. The complexity of application servers make it difficult to make direct comparisons. It is only when the application is deployed and you begin to get a heavy load of users that you truly know if you have a good app server and by then it is usually too late to switch (easily).
"It is only when the application is deployed
and you begin to get a heavy load of users
that you truly know if you have a good app server..."
That could explain the importance of the ?cool? factor. Experienced developers and administrators know which app server works best, but they cannot always quantify it. Availability of skills is certainly also an important factor. J2EE programming is not a novice skill set and experience with specific application servers tends to play a big role too.
"J2EE programming is not a novice skill set
and experience with specific application servers
tends to play a big role..."
|
|
|
|
Home | 
