Wizard API updated!
Tim Boudreau has released a new version of the Swing Wizard library (version 0.997) that fixes the WizardException bug reported in JavaWorld's recent Open Source Java Project profile. The article's examples have been reworked to test out the new, improved WizardException. Thanks, Tim, for this helpful fix!
Open Source Java Projects: The Wizard API

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Keeping BPM on track

SonicXQ 1.5 offers a strong solution for business process management

By Tom Yager, InfoWorld, 10/04/02

It's easy to identify a poorly planned Web services strategy: it emphasizes technical benefits over business objectives. Merely replacing CORBA, COM (Component Object Model), and EJB (Enterprise JavaBean) interfaces with SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) accomplishes little more than the fleeting satisfaction of being buzzword-compliant. A smarter way to proceed is to map your business processes, the way information flows through your company, without considering the capabilities of any particular technology. Then apply the mix of technical solutions that satisfies current needs and adapts to changing requirements. That's the soul of BPM (business process management).

One solution that meshes nicely with this business-focused approach is SonicXQ from Sonic Software. Sonic's messaging middleware, SonicMQ, is the leading JMS (Java Message Service) provider for J2EE (Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition) application servers. SonicXQ 1.5 combines messaging with routing, process flow orchestration, data transformation, and security services to create a scalable BPM infrastructure. What sets this solution apart is its decentralized approach to automation and effective use of Java, XML, Web services, reliable messaging, scripting, and content-based routing.

SonicXQ earns high marks for doing so much so well. We question Sonic's portrayal of decentralized orchestration as an intrinsically superior approach. We also found that Sonic's included tools do little to speed learning or development; an XML-aware text editor might do just as well. But overall, SonicXQ provides developers with a solid set of secure, reliable BPM services. It's a great place for any Java shop to start with BPM.

SonicXQ proves that enterprise-grade solutions need not be complicated. The software installs quickly and requires little attention. Anyone familiar with XML, messaging, Java, and JavaScript can easily grasp its architecture. The only adjustment that might be required relates to SonicXQ's abstraction of its underlying plumbing. Experienced Java developers might experience some brief initial frustration that SonicXQ flies at a higher altitude than the J2EE and Web services interfaces they're accustomed to. It helps to remember that backing away from the low-level APIs gives you the freedom to swap components later without rewriting the app. In this time of fluid standards, such freedoms are essential.

We tested a prerelease edition of SonicXQ 1.5 on a PC server with dual AMD Athlon MP processors, 1GB of RAM, and a 180-GB Seagate Barracuda hard drive. So far, SonicXQ has been certified to run on Solaris, HP-UX, and Windows.

To ease evaluation, Sonic provided us with all the software necessary to install SonicXQ on our Windows 2000 Advanced Server test bed. We were intrigued to find that this evaluation did not require a J2EE server. The software in the evaluation kit reflects a growing bond between Sonic and the Apache open source Java project. Most companies will deploy SonicXQ on a commercial J2EE server. But in time, Sonic's work with the open source community should reduce or eliminate the bonds linking SonicXQ and SonicMQ to J2EE application servers.

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For more enterprise computing news, visit InfoWorld. Story copyright InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.

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