Debu Panda>>We provide caching at all the levels. We haveOracle Application Server Web Cache that can cache static and dynamic pages and page fragments using JESI, reducing load on the application server instances. We provideOracle Application Server Java Object Cacheto manage cache of Java objects within a process, across processes, and on local disk, significantly improving server performance by managing local copies of objects that are expensive to retrieve or create. OurTopLinkpersistence framework uses caching of data in the middle?tier, reducing a myriad of unnecessary database calls.

"Use EJB only when

it makes sense and

do not overuse it."

IndicThreads>>Are there any situations where you think users are better advised to stay away from the commercial application servers and EJBs and just stick with something simpler like Tomcat or Jetty?

Debu Panda>>Use EJB only when it makes sense and do not overuse it. For mission-critical applications, I recommend using commercial application servers like Oracle Application Server, which provides a lot of other benefits such as caching and high availability, whether you use EJB or not. OurJ2EE container (OC4J) is available stand-alone and is free for development purposes.

"Parts of our application server

are developed and tested

in the India Development Center

in Bangalore."

IndicThreads>>The Oracle India site highlights a best application server award that an Indian magazine has conferred on it. Congrats! What?s special about the Indian market? Do you have any special offerings for India?

Debu Panda>>It is heartening to see that Oracle Application Server has been awarded PCQuest Users?Choice Award two years in a row. We have been providing constant training to our partners in India. We will be delivering free seminars (Oracle Developer Days) on Service-Oriented Architecture in New Delhi, Chennai, and Hyderabad in December 2004. I will be in New Delhi and Chennai to deliver this seminar on December 13 and December 16 of this year.

It is worth mentioning here that some parts of our application server are developed and tested in the

India Development Center in Bangalore.

"The biggest threat to J2EE

 is its complexity and the perception

that it is not as productive

as Microsoft .NET"