Sun Releases New Version of J2EE

Sun Microsystems today announced the latest version of the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE), simplifying business integration and delivering increased functionality for developing and deploying enterprise-level web services.

New features in this version of J2EE include Enterprise JavaBeans 2.0, J2EE containers, and the Java Message Service (JMS) for managing enterprise messaging.

Today’s announcement marks the delivery by the Java Community Process of the J2EE version 1.3 platform specification. The specification provides the written description of the functionality of the J2EE platform. Like all Java specifications, the J2EE specification is released in conjunction with a reference implementation (RI) and a Technology Compatibility Kit (TCK). The J2EE RI offers developers a working prototype and is available in source and binary form from the java.sun.com web site. The TCK for the J2EE platform is known as the J2EE Compatibility Test Suite (CTS), which delivers a suite of tests, tools and documentation for ensuring compatibility. Upon successful completion of the test suite, licensees may use the Java Compatible, Enterprise Edition brand. This process allows licensees to create their own specific implementation of J2EE, while maintaining compatibility with other Java technology-based applications.

New features in this release include:

• J2EE Connectors: Connectors enable easy integration with existing heterogeneous systems including back-end applications, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Resource Management (CRM) systems.
  
• Java Message Service (JMS) API and Message Driven Beans: Java APIs allow applications to create, send, receive and read messages without requiring the sender or receiver to be available at the same time (asynchronously); message driven beans provide a component model for messaging.
  
• Enterprise JavaBeans 2.0 (EJB): EJB architecture now incorporates new container-managed persistence, which dramatically simplifies the development of distributed applications; required Internet Inter-ORB Protocol (IIOP) interoperability facilitates communication between application servers from different vendors.
  
• Increased XML Integration: An essential part of web services, XML integration is enhanced with the Java API for XML Processing (JAXP) and the ability to write and manipulate JavaServer Pages (JSP) technology in XML.
  
• JSP Framework and Servlets: Java servlet filters are web components that support the application of multiple context-based transformations and enable access from a variety of client devices; JSP 1.2 allows XML tools to create JSPs.
  

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