Mastering Enterprise Javabeans and The Java 2 Platform

Mastering Enterprise Javabeans and the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition What some are calling the best thing to happen to enterprise programming since Java itself, Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) radically streamlines the server-side application development process. In this book, you'll learn EJB from a developer's perspective---the author cuts through the marketing hype and shows you both the good and bad in developing real-world EJB applications. You'll learn everything you need to jumpstart your EJB development, from understanding the basics of the EJB architecture to developing transactional, scalable, and secure multi-user enterprise applications. After reading this book you'll know how to:

• Develop with both EJB 1.0 as well as the new EJB 1.1 standard
• Master the technologies that complement EJB: Java RMI, RMI-IIOP, JTA, JNDI, CORBA, and XML (each of these topics is covered in full).
• Develop with both bean types: session beans (stateful and stateless), and entity beans (bean-managed and container-managed persistent)
• Design, implement, and deploy a real-world e-commerce system, with a total of nine enterprise beans and seven Java servlets
• Avoid pitfalls that could make your code nonportable across EJB servers
• Make an educated EJB server purchase decision.

The CD-ROM provides you with:

• An immense amount of sample code that you can extend for your own needs
• A trial of the BEA WebLogic EJB server for getting started right away.

On the companion Web site you'll find:

• Updates to the book
• A treasure trove of links to EJB and J2EE resources

Table of contents

Chapter 1: Server-side Component Architectures

The Need for a Server-Side Component Architecture

Server-Side Component Architecture Solutions

The Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition

Chapter 2: Enterprise JavaBeans Overview

Who's Who in Enterprise JavaBeans

Enterprise Beans

Overview of EJB Container and EJB Server Responsibilities

Chapter 3: Introduction to Session Beans

What Constitutes an Enterprise Bean?

What Is a Session Bean?

Understanding How to Write Session Beans

Understanding How to Call Session Beans

Chapter 4: The Basics of Stateless Session Beans

Characteristics of Stateless Session Beans

Example: Hello, World!

Chapter 5: The Basics of Stateful Session Beans

Characteristics of Stateful Session Beans

Example: A counting bean

Stateful or Stateless? Myths and Facts about Statelessness

Chapter 6: Adding Functionality to Your Beans

EJB Contexts: Your Gateway to the Container

Session Bean Contexts

Understanding EJB Security

Understanding EJB Object Handles

Example: The Puzzle Game ?Fazuul?

Chapter 7: Introduction to Entity Beans

Persistence Concepts

What Is an Entity Bean?

Features of Entity Beans

Developing and Using Entity Beans

Entity Contexts

Putting It All Together: Walking through an Entity Bean Life Cycle

Chapter 8: Writing Bean-Managed Persistent Entity Beans

Implementation Guidelines for Bean-Managed Persistence

Example: A Bank Account

Chapter 9: Writing Container-Managed Persistent Entity Beans

Implementation Guidelines for Container-Managed Persistence

Example: A Product Line

Promises and Realities: Bean-Managed Persistence versus Container-Managed Persistence

Resolving Your EJB Debugging Problems

Chapter 10: Transactions

The Motivation for Transactions

The ACID Properties: The Benefits of Transactions

Transactional Models

Enlisting in Transactions with Enterprise JavaBeans

Transactional Isolation: Dirty Reads, Unrepeatable Reads, and Phantoms

Distributed Transactions

Programmatic Transactions in EJB

Designing Transactional Conversations in EJB

Chapter 11: CORBA and RMI-IIOP

What Is CORBA?

Why Should I Care about CORBA?

Understanding How CORBA Works

OMG's Interface Definition Language

CORBA's Many Services

RMI over IIOP

Steps to Take for RMI and CORBA to Work Together

The RMI-IIOP API

The Big Picture: CORBA and EJB Together

Chapter 12: J2EE in the Real World: Designing an E-Commerce Object Model

A Preview of the Final Product

Scoping the Technical Requirements

Object Model for the Business Logic Tier

Object Model for the Presentation Tier

Chapter 13: J2EE in the Real World: Implementing Our E-Commerce Entity Beans

The Customer Entity Bean

The Order Line Item Entity Bean

The Order Entity Bean

Chapter 14: J2EE in the Real World: Implementing Our E-Commerce Session Beans

The Quote Line Item Stateful Session Bean

The Quote Stateful Session Bean

The Pricer Stateless Session Bean

The Bank Teller Stateless Session Bean

Chapter 15: J2EE in the Real World: Combining Servlets with Enterprise JavaBeans

The Role of Servlets in an EJB Deployment

Implementing each of our Servlets

Optimizations and Design Strategies

Appendix A: Understanding Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI)

Remote Method Invocations

RMI Architecture

Bootstrapping and the RMI Registry

RMIC-The RMI Compiler

Object Serialization and Parameter Passing

A Simple Example

Dealing with Remote Exceptions

RMI Tips

Advanced RMI: A Message Queue for Distributed Logging

Advanced RMI: Exploiting Distributed Garbage Collection

Appendix B: Understanding the Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI)

Naming and Directory Services

The Problems with Naming and Directories, and the Benefits of JNDI

JNDI Overview

Understanding the Concepts behind JNDI Programming

Programming with JNDI

Advanced JNDI: Combining JNDI with JDBC

Advanced JNDI: Combining JNDI with EJB

Advanced JNDI: Combining JNDI with Java RMI

Appendix C: Understanding the Extensible Markup Language (XML)

Business Needs for XML

XML compared to EDI, SGML, and HTML

Understanding the XML data and XML DTD Concepts and Syntax

XML and EJB

Appendix D: Understanding EJB 1.1

Portable Deployment Descriptors

Entity Bean Support Mandated

RMI-IIOP API Standardized

Everything JNDI

Bean References Done Right

Transactions Clarified and Enhanced

Security Updates

New Home Handles

Beyond EJB 1.1

Appendix E: Making a Purchase Decision

Technical criteria for making an EJB server purchase decision

Non-Technical criteria for making an EJB server purchase decision

Appendix F: EJB Quick Reference Guide

Session Bean Diagrams

Entity Bean Diagrams

EJB API Reference

Transaction Reference