Introduction to Sun Java Studio Enterprise

Recently Sun Microsystems announced the Sun Java System, a new approach to the way it packages, delivers, and prices software. In making the announcement, Sun identified an initial set of offerings that comprise the Sun Java System. Each of these offerings consolidates into a single coherent package what would otherwise be a disparate collection of software products. In doing so, each offering is designed to dramatically simplify the way software is purchased, installed, configured, and maintained.

One of the Sun Java System offerings is the Sun Java Enterprise System, which integrates into a single package a comprehensive set of standards-based enterprise services. These services include web and application services, business and integration services, directory and identity services, and portal and collaboration services -- in short, the kind of services that provide the infrastructure for sophisticated (usually multitier) applications. The Java Enterprise System brings together services that were previously provided by individual Sun ONE products such as Sun ONE Web Server, Sun ONE Application Server, and Sun ONE Portal Server. The Sun ONE products are now components of the Sun Java System. The components have names that begin with "Sun Java System", for example, "Sun Java System Directory Server."

This integrated package of services should greatly reduce the complexity and cost of acquiring, installing, and deploying the software system for an enterprise. In addition, the package is pretested using "real-world" scenarios, ensuring that the integrated services work well in typical enterprise uses. Underscoring the theme of simplicity, the Java Enterprise System also gives users a common installer to install the entire package as a single unit.

In addition, Sun announced that:

• New releases of the Java Enterprise System will be made available on a regular, quarterly schedule.
• There will be a single, per-employee, per-year subscription price for the package (rather than a separate license fee for each package component). The price is a low $100 per employee per year.
• Consulting, training, and support services will be provided as part of the subscription.

As part of its Sun Java System announcement, Sun also announced Sun Java Studio Enterprise, a developer solution for the Java Enterprise System. Java Studio Enterprise includes tools and services for building and testing applications for deployment on the Java Enterprise System. Together, Java Studio Enterprise and the Java Enterprise System, give developers a complete solution for developing, testing, and deploying enterprise applications and web services. Like the Java Enterprise System, Java Studio Enterprise has the following characteristics:

• It's fully integrated and tested.
• It's installable as a single package.
• It will be released on a regular schedule.
• It's based on a single, per-employee, per-year subscription price. In fact, it adds only $5 to the per-employee, per-year subscription price when ordered with the Java Enterprise System.
• It offers a variety of support services as part of the subscription.

Java Studio Enterprise brings together an integrated set of tools, enterprise services, and support services to aid developers in building applications and web services.

Java Studio Enterprise offers a variety of features designed to dramatically improve developer productivity.

Beyond the tools and enterprise services that it offers, Java Studio Enterprise makes available a variety of other resources designed to simplify the installation and development experience. These resources include the following:

• Common Installer: You can install the entire Java Studio Enterprise package as a single unit, and do it with a minimum amount of interaction. There is no need to separately install and configure individual tools and services; however, the installer does give you the option of installing selected components.

• Code Samples: A collection of more than 100 code samples is provided for all of the tools and services in Java Studio Enterprise. The samples demonstrate many aspects of programming with J2EE technologies.
• Documentation: Java Studio Enterprise includes formal documentation for all provided APIs. It also includes component-specific documentation such as Application Framework Guides, as well as system-wide documentation such as an Installation Guide that covers the Java Studio Enterprise installation process.

All the functionality you need to develop, debug, and test enterprise applications and web services that conform to J2EE standards is built into Java Studio Enterprise. You don't have to individually install and configure tools and servers. More than that, a Java Studio Enterprise subscription provides the support you need to help solve problems during development, debugging, and testing.

Java Studio Enterprise is a complete develop--debug--test solution for enterprise applications and web services. It's complete in two ways. First, it tightly integrates a full-function developer platform with a develop-test version of the Java Enterprise System. The platform provides all the functionality you need to develop enterprise applications and web services targeted for the runtime version of the Java Enterprise System. In targeting to the Java Enterprise System, you can take advantage of all the services it offers -- from those that serve content, to those that secure and personalize content. In other words, developing an application with Java Studio Enterprise ensures that the application can run with the entire set of Java Enterprise System services.

You can use Java Studio Enterprise to build anything from simple web applications-to portlet components of web portals-to sophisticated enterprise applications and web services. You can then use it to test and debug what you build against integrated Java Studio Enterprise services. Then you can easily deploy to a runtime version of the Java Enterprise System. For example, you can deploy applications to Java System Application Server Standard 7 through a single click on a Java Studio Enterprise menu. What's particularly significant is that all this functionality is built into Java Studio Enterprise. You don't have to individually install and configure the tools and servers you need to develop, debug, and test enterprise applications and web services that conform to J2EE standards.

Second, Sun Java Studio Enterprise provides a comprehensive collection of developer resources and support services. It gives you all the resources of the Sun Developer Network, as well as many code samples and a complete reference application to help guide you in developing enterprise applications and web services. And it provides support services such as special forums to help you get correct answers to questions quickly. In other words, Sun Java Studio Enterprise is more than a development toolset. It's a fully supported environment designed to help solve problems that you encounter during development, debugging, and testing.

Sun Java Studio Enterprise runs in the Solaris Operating System, Microsoft Windows 2000, and Microsoft Windows XP.

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The Java Studio Enterprise platform offers a large collection of wizards and property sheets that automatically generate much of the detailed coding needed in enterprise applications. For example, you can build EJB components simply by making selections in wizards. These wizards include those for creating stateless and stateful session beans, message-driven beans, and entity beans with container-managed or bean-managed persistence. Additionally you can use wizards to perform tasks such as build servlets, JSP pages, and other web components; generate J2EE applications that incorporate EJB and web components; and create web services from Web Services Description Language (WSDL) files or EJB components. Also, the graphical interface provided by the core platform gives you a logical view of components. This can greatly simplify working with components such as beans. For example, to add methods to a bean, you can point and click on a node in a tree -- you don't have to open an interface class and bean classes.

The Application Framework tightly integrated into the core platform gives you a RAD environment to quickly build web applications. In addition, it guides you through the entire web application development process. The Application Framework automatically generates a lot of the detailed code that you would otherwise have to provide for an application. It ensures that what you build follows the best practices of J2EE design patterns, and so, ensures that your web applications are maintainable and highly scalable. The Application Framework unites concepts that are familiar to most developers, such as display fields, application events, component hierarchies, and a page-centric development approach, with state-of-the art design based on the MVC and Service-to-Workers design patterns. Building a web application is simply a matter of adding Application Framework objects to the MVC-based structure. You create these objects in a graphical environment, through wizards and property sheets. You also have available a collection of visual components that you can select for inclusion in the user interface of an application, as well as non-visual (functional) components. When selected, each of these components generates code for inclusion in the presentation logic of the application. You can also add your own custom components or components developed by a third party. This gives you a way of building your own toolbox of visual and functional components for reuse in multiple applications.

The platform also includes features that make it easy to test application components. For example, after building a web service, you can use wizards to quickly generate a simple client to test the web service. In addition, the platform integrates support for the JUnit framework. The JUnit framework is an open source product that has become the de facto standard for unit and regression testing in a Java development environment. Using built-in JUnit support, you can create unit tests for individual classes or for entire packages. The platform support includes a test generator that generates skeleton code for a class or package. You then add code to the skeleton as necessary to complete the test. The support also includes a test runner that executes the test.

Java Studio Enterprise is simple to install and use. It's simple out of the box. You can install the entire Java Studio Enterprise package as a single unit, and do it with a minimum amount of interaction. There is no need to separately install and configure individual tools and services.

It's simple in use. As mentioned earlier, the core platform and its integrated tools offer a variety of wizards that step you through the process of developing application components.

It simplifies development. The wizards and property sheets automatically generate code, saving you the time and effort of doing the coding yourself. If you do have to code, you can refer to the reference application and the collection of code samples for guidance.

There's another aspect of simplicity that's unique to Java System offerings such as Java Studio Enterprise. It's the simplicity that results from being predictable. Java Studio Enterprise simplifies the entire software life cycle because it's updated on a regular, predictable schedule. Sun announced that new releases of the Java Enterprise System will be made available on a regular, quarterly schedule. The intent is to align new releases of Java Studio Enterprise as much as possible with that of the Java Enterprise System. This doesn't necessarily mean that updates of Java Studio Enterprise will be released every quarter, but it does mean that the releases will be scheduled in a predictable way (for example, every other quarter). What's significant is that you'll know when to expect new releases of the Java Enterprise System and Java Studio Enterprise, and when you receive these releases, they'll arrive as fully integrated and tested packages. One important benefit of getting regular, predictable updates is that it makes it easier to plan for and adopt the latest Java technology standards.