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Connect the enterprise with the JCA, Part 2

Build your own J2EE Connector Architecture adapter

By Dirk Reinshagen, JavaWorld.com, 02/01/02

In "Connect the Enterprise with the JCA, Part 1," I introduced JCA (J2EE Connector Architecture), explained how it compares to EAI (enterprise application integration) products, and offered details on JCA interfaces.

JCA, an important new Java standard addressing enterprise integration, provides a framework, much like JDBC (Java Database Connectivity), to read and write data to different enterprise systems such as SAP, PeopleSoft, or Siebel. Reflecting its importance, the latest releases of most J2EE (Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition) application servers support JCA.

Read the whole series on the JCA:



In this article, the second of two, I demonstrate how to implement a JCA adapter -- a set of classes with which a J2EE application server targets a particular enterprise system. A JCA adapter functions similarly to how a JDBC driver connects to databases. However, because developing a full-featured JCA adapter is a complex task, I can only scratch the surface in this article. Nevertheless, by the end, you will understand a basic JCA adapter's construction, and grasp the effort required to build your own.

To accomplish those goals, I first describe the sample adapter's capabilities, as well as how to deploy and run it. I then introduce the implementation classes, followed by what occurs when the adapter executes in the container. Finally, I discuss the lessons learned from creating the sample adapter.

Note: To download the myjca.rar source code that accompanies this article, see Resources.

What the sample JCA adapter implementation does (and doesn't) contain

First, it's important to frame the sample-adapter discussion by describing its functionality. This article's sample adapter doesn't actually hook up to an enterprise system; it merely implements the interfaces required to deploy the adapter and look up a connection.

Moreover, the sample adapter implements only those classes required for the JCA specification's connection management section. Further, most of the adapter's method implementations contain print statements that let you see the method calls' order, without hooking up a debugger. The sample adapter does not, however, address transaction and security contacts.

This article's sample adapter does not use the CCI (Common Client Interface) interfaces. It strictly demonstrates the classes necessary to connect to an enterprise system.

What you need to deploy the sample adapter

To use the adapter (or any JCA adapter for that matter), you need a J2EE application server with JCA 1.0 specification support. I used BEA's WebLogic 6.1 server to test the sample adapter; however, other application servers should work.

To deploy the sample adapter with BEA's WebLogic 6.1, you must:

  1. Navigate to the connector tree in the Administration Console
  2. Click on the "Install new connector" link
  3. Navigate to the myjca.rar file, then upload it


In a later section, you'll find instructions on how to compile and build myjca.rar.

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Resources
  • Dirk Reinshagen's "XML Messaging" series (JavaWorld):