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Enterprise Java

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Java is here to stay

Why Java is ready for enterprise applications

By John Rommel, JavaWorld.com, 01/15/00

Page 2 of 3

Don Ferguson, chief IBM WebSphere architect, told me his company did a lot of assurances for its customers by writing initial applications in both C++ and Java. They typically saw only a slight reduction in speed with Java versus C++, a small price to pay for Java's advantages in a mission-critical arena.

Java tools

Java development tools have also improved. BEA Systems' WebLogic and Bluestone's application servers, the Cloudscape DB engine, Sterling's Cool Joe products, and the Metameta debugger tool provide their stacks for quick and efficient use, and are all written in 100 percent pure Java. Major databases, like IBM's DB2 and those from Oracle, are now Java enabled.

Java has handled security, application programming interfaces, content, and documentation while maintaining the object-oriented paradigm. For example, Java's digital signing ability allows the system to know exactly who wrote the software. From the standpoint of security, Java, compared with other platforms, is immune to viruses.

Among development tools, there is no one solution to the problems of reliability, availability, and scalability. Sun engineers are working diligently to minimize Java's footprint and startup time. Those improvements will be available in the Kestral release due in early 2000.

Java and ecommerce

Do you use Java for your ecommerce Website? Today's Java platform includes all the services you need to write an enterprise-scale application. Enterprise systems must approach round-the-clock application uptime, an important goal that Java can meet. As the Java APIs gain further acceptance, more Java-enabled applications will span almost every platform.

In the high-tech world, nothing exists forever, but Java has succeeded in the data center and makes sense for modern ecommerce. Taking advantage of the work already done by Java engineers will help you get your ecommerce apps up and running faster. Java engineers have already provided a faster virtual machine, better-tuned libraries, and richer features that all help support today's Java platform.

And with improvements to HTTP support, Java servlets can now connect directly to all browsers, enabling infinite scalability for dot-com and ecommerce business.

Who's using Java

Today, the majority of Fortune 500 corporations, including the Bank of America, General Electric, and Xerox, have some type of Java application rollout. Many companies are attracted to Java's time- and cost-saving abilities, its selling attributes and economies (which include rapid prototyping, scalability, productivity, and security), and its write once, run anywhere promise.

Velocity, a major Java system introduced in August 1999 at Charles Schwab, replaced E*Schwab to place trades and to provide balances, trading history, and quotes using JavaBean components (see Resources). This desktop application supports Schwab's most active traders. Schwab's Velocity system uses Marimba's Castanet, which runs on the Java application server -- keeping the Velocity software up-to-date. Velocity also uses Java Swing for desktop editing. Java handles the high number of concurrent users by updating Schwab's customers' desktops by means of Castanet. For all of Schwab's critical requirements, Java was the answer.

 

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