The Java EE7 Tutorial

This chapter introduces you to Java EE enterprise application development. Here you will review development basics, learn about the Java EE architecture and APIs, become acquainted with important terms and concepts, and find out how to approach Java EE application programming, assembly, and deployment.

Developers today increasingly recognize the need for distributed, transactional, and portable applications that leverage the speed, security, and reliability of server-side technology. Enterprise applications provide the business logic for an enterprise. They are centrally managed and often interact with other enterprise software. In the world of information technology, enterprise applications must be designed, built, and produced for less money, with greater speed, and with fewer resources.

With the Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE), development of Java enterprise applications has never been easier or faster. The aim of the Java EE platform is to provide developers with a powerful set of APIs while shortening development time, reducing application complexity, and improving application performance.

The Java EE platform is developed through the Java Community Process (JCP), which is responsible for all Java technologies. Expert groups composed of interested parties have created Java Specification Requests (JSRs) to define the various Java EE technologies. The work of the Java Community under the JCP program helps to ensure Java technology’s standards of stability and cross-platform compatibility.

The Java EE platform uses a simplified programming model. XML deployment descriptors are optional. Instead, a developer can simply enter the information as an annotation directly into a Java source file, and the Java EE server will configure the component at deployment and runtime. These annotations are generally used to embed in a program data that would otherwise be furnished in a deployment descriptor. With annotations, you put the specification information in your code next to the program element affected.

In the Java EE platform, dependency injection can be applied to all resources a component needs, effectively hiding the creation and lookup of resources from application code. Dependency injection can be used in Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) containers, web containers, and application clients. Dependency injection allows the Java EE container to automatically insert references to other required components or resources, using annotations.

This tutorial uses examples to describe the features available in the Java EE platform for developing enterprise applications. Whether you are a new or experienced enterprise developer, you should find the examples and accompanying text a valuable and accessible knowledge base for creating your own solutions.