Leverage Java EE Core Components in a Software Development Company
Enterprise software development heavily relies on fabricating software that can handle complex workloads and dynamic needs. Therefore, choosing the right tools is crucial for laying the foundation for a secure, scalable, and feature-rich application.
Java Enterprise Edition (EE) offers a comprehensive suite of components as a developer’s toolkit. It empowers developers of a software development company to build enterprise software skyscrapers that stand the test of time. Thus, a deep dive into the core Java architecture and its components helps craft exceptional custom software development solutions.
So, let’s explore the key components of Java EE in this blog.
11 Java EE core components leveraged by a software development company
Below are the core components of Java Enterprise Edition:
Servlets
Servlets are the backbone of any Java EE web application. They are basically Java classes that handle HTTP requests and replies. Developers can augment a web server’s capabilities using the Java Servlet package.
● Servlets can be used to parse request parameters using the getParameter() method.
● They can also be used to generate dynamic content using JSP (JavaServer Pages) libraries or to build responses directly.
● Developers can use them to manage sessions using techniques such as HTTP session objects.
● Finally, they can use it to ensure security by using filters for authentication and authorization.
JavaScript Server Pages (JSP)
JSP (JavaScript Server Pages) are HTML pages containing Java code snippets enclosed within the <% %> tag. These code snippets are then compiled into servlets that execute at runtime. This allows developers to combine the presentational capabilities of HTML with the dynamically typed capabilities of Java.
JSP provides features such as:
● Expression Language (EL) to access objects and variables inside JSP pages,
● JavaServer Pages Standard (JSTL) tag library for common web development operations such as loops and conditional statements, and
● Custom tags to extend JSP functionality.
JavaServer Faces (JSF)
JavaServer Faces (JSF) simplifies the development of user interfaces for web applications by a software development company. It adheres to the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern, offering a structured approach for separating presentation logic from business logic.
Key features of JSF include:
Components: Reusable UI building blocks declared in XML files and rendered on the server side.
Events: Mechanisms for handling user interactions with UI components.
Navigation: Managing the application flow between different views (JSP pages).
Validation: Built-in mechanisms for validating user input on the server side.
Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB)
EJB stands for Enterprise JavaBeans. It is a server-side programming model that encapsulates an application’s business logic.
Developers deploy the EJB component on the Java EE server. These components can be accessed from web applications (such as Servlets and JSP pages) or other EJB components.
Some important EJB components include session beans, entity beans, message-driven beans, interceptors, and more.
Session beans: Developers use these to store the status information for a specific user session.
Entity beans: These are used to represent persistent data in a database table.
Message Driven Beans: Developers use these to process messages asynchronously through the Java Message Management System (JMS).
Interceptors: Code developers can invoke before, during, or after a method call on an EJB for tasks like logging or security checks.
Java Persistence API (JPA)
JPA is a Java API that makes it easy for Java applications to interact with relational databases. It does this by using Object-Relational Programming (ORM). JPA bridges the gap between Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) and Relational Database Programming (RDP).
● Some of the benefits of using JPA include annotations, which allow Java classes to be mapped between database tables.
● Entity Manager is a central interface that allows you to perform CRUD operations on your persistent data.
● Finally, JPAQL is an SQL-based language that allows you to query persistent entities.
Java Message Service (JMS)
Java Message Service (JMS) provides a standardized API for asynchronous messaging between applications. This enables applications to decouple message sending from message receiving, improving scalability and performance. JMS utilizes message queues and topics for communication:
Message queues: Follow a first-in, first-out (FIFO) ordering system. A single consumer receives messages from the queue in the order they were sent.
Topics: It is a publish-subscribe model where messages are published on a topic, and interested subscribers receive the message.
Java Archive (JAR) Files
JAR files are fundamental to Java EE development. They act as standardized archive files containing compiled Java classes (bytecode), manifest files, and other resources like images or configuration files. The java.util.jar package provides functionalities for creating and manipulating JAR files to developers in any software development company.
Manifest File: A crucial element within a JAR file, the manifest file (META-INF/MANIFEST.MF) specifies metadata about the archive, including:
Class-Path: This attribute defines the location of other JAR files on which the classes within the current JAR depend.
Main-Class: If the JAR contains a class with a main method, this attribute specifies the entry point for execution as a standalone application.
Web Archive (WAR) Files
WAR files are a specialized type of JAR file designed specifically for packaging web applications. They contain all the necessary components for a web application to function, including:
● Web resources like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files.
● Servlet and JSP classes.
● Deployment descriptors like web.xml are used to configure web application settings.
Deployment descriptors within WAR files utilize XML syntax to define various aspects of the web application, such as:
● Servlets and their mappings to URL patterns.
● JSP pages and their corresponding servlets for handling requests.
● Security constraints and filters for access control.
Java API for RESTful Web Services (JAX-RS)
JAX-RS (Java API for RESTful Web Services) provides a standardized approach for developing RESTful web services within Java EE applications. REST (REpresentational State Transfer) is a popular architectural style for web services a software development company provides. It emphasizes lightweight and stateless communication.
Key features of JAX-RS include:
Annotations: Developers can leverage annotations (like @Path, @GET, @POST) to define resource classes, request methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE), and path parameters.
Providers: JAX-RS utilizes providers to handle various aspects of web service interactions, such as message body format (JSON, XML) or content negotiation.
Client libraries: Libraries like javax.ws.rs.client can simplify the consumption of RESTful web services from other applications.
Java API for XML Web Services (JAX-WS)
JAX-WS (Java API for XML Web Services) provides a standardized way for developing and consuming SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) web services within Java EE applications. SOAP is a widely used protocol for web service communication that utilizes XML messages for data exchange.
Key aspects of JAX-WS include:
Annotations: Similar to JAX-RS, JAX-WS employs annotations (like @WebService, @WebMethod) to define web service endpoints and their methods.
Code generation tools: Tools like wsimport can automatically generate Java classes from WSDL (Web Services Description Language) documents, simplifying development.
Stubs and skeletons: JAX-WS utilizes stubs (client-side) and skeletons (server-side) to handle the marshaling and unmarshaling of SOAP messages.
Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS)
JAAS (Java Authentication and Authorization Service) provides a framework for user authentication and authorization within Java EE applications. It allows developers to integrate with various authentication mechanisms, such as:
Login modules (LoginModules): Developers use these to perform user authentication against different authentication providers (databases, LDAP servers).
Subject class: Represents a user or principal within the application and holds security credentials.
Permissions: Define access control rules for specific resources within the application.
Conclusion
This was all-inclusive information about the core components of Java EE in software development in New York. These provide a comprehensive toolbox for crafting applications that can conquer changing complexity and industry demands. By adopting a Java EE-centric approach, any software development company can equip itself to meet the dynamic needs of the modern enterprise.
