Enterprise JavaBeans

Enterprise JavaBeans (versions 1.1 and 1.0) is an important technology for server-side application development in Java. It offers a component architecture for developing distributed, multitiered enterprise applications. This book provides a thorough introduction to EJB 1.1 and 1.0 for the enterprise software developer. It shows you how to develop enterprise Beans to model your business objects and processes. One powerful advantage of the EJB architecture is that it allows you to partition work appropriately between different parts of the system: the database provides persistence, your Beans model various business entities and the interactions between them, and your client application provides a user interface, but incorporates minimal business logic. The end result is a highly flexible system built from components that can easily be reused, and that can be changed to suit your needs without upsetting other parts of the system. Enterprise JavaBeans, 2nd Edition will help you take advantage of the flexibility and simplicity that this powerful new architecture provides.

Thoroughly enhanced for the EJB 1.1 specification, Enterprise JavaBeans, 2nd Edition provides a great introduction to the world of server-side Java components. With plenty of material on EJB architecture and design, this new edition can serve as an authoritative resource for mastering today's bean standards.

Besides a general introduction to EJBs, the new edition of this book excels at highlighting the differences between the EJB 1.0 and 1.1 standards. Sample code is provided for both versions. For deployment, EJB 1.1 now relies on XML to define all bean resources and dependencies. For every sample bean, the author provides the XML, as well as the old-style Java code for EJB 1.0. There's also plenty of coverage of the new reliance on JNDI (the Java directory service) in EJB 1.1 and other late-breaking Sun standards, such as combining EJBs with servlets and JSPs for delivering dynamic Web content.

This text is organized as a tutorial to the major types of EJBs with full coverage of entity beans (for accessing databases) and session beans (for managing "conversations" with particular clients). The author covers all the bases here with numerous diagrams describing the life cycle of beans and how they cooperate with today's application servers. As in the first edition, sample beans for a cruise ship booking application let you see actual EJB code in action. Helpful appendices list all EJB APIs and other useful information (such as a list of current EJB vendors).

In all, the revised edition of Enterprise JavaBeans shows off the considerable strengths of the new EJB 1.1 standard. Suitable for any working Java programmer or IT manager, the clear presentation of the strategies and techniques for successful component design help make this book a smart choice for successful development with EJBs. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Overview of Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs) v. 1.1 and 1.0, distributed objects, Component Transaction Monitors (CTMs), application servers and EJBs, resource management, EJB server setup, entity beans, session beans and workflow, the JNDI naming service, the life cycle of beans, container-managed and bean-managed persistence for entity beans, stateful and stateless session beans, deploying beans in JAR files (EJB 1.1 and 1.0 conventions), XML deployment descriptors, transaction basics (ACID properties and JTS), EJB security, design strategies and performance tips for EJBs, Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) and EJBs, servlets and JSPs used with EJBs, sample beans, state and sequence diagrams for EJBs, and EJB API reference.