ContentsIntroductionWhy Server-side Java

Previous: Introduction | Next: Why Web Application Development

Java is a really good language, but the "Write Once - Run Anywhere" cross-platform premise is the most important characteristic of Java.

The really important thing about Java is that programs written in pure Java can be moved to different host platforms with minimal effort.  That means that the hardware and operating system can be changed whenever necessary for performance reasons.

At present, most Java programmers started as client/server programmers.  That means they have expectations about building GUI's and (mostly) doing everything on their desktop PC - the network is a secondary consideration for such applications.

Actually, Java is much more important and useful on the server.  An application can start on a single WINTEL PC and be re-hosted on a cluster of Linux servers, or Sun Solaris servers, or an IBM mainframe with minimal effort.  The operational ease of doing this allows for powerful scaling scenarios which can be adjusted as needed.

The basic Java technology that enables this is called the Java Servlet API.  The Servlet technology is mature (having been in production use in high-volume sites since 1997) and well supported by numerous vendors other than Sun.  There are several Open Source implementations of Servlets as well.

Server-side Java also has some tangible benefits for the programmer:

• More similar to the mainframe programming model than it is to client/server programming
• Easy integration with other server-side components, such as web servers, database servers, and application servers
• No need to learn or use Swing or AWT - only business rules and data access are written in Java
• Team development is much more manageable
• Synchronization and application of upgrades is much easier
• All of the code is centralized, so deployment is essentially instantaneous (nothing to install on everyone's PC)
• Performance monitoring of deployed applications is very straightforward
• Operational concerns can be controlled by system specialists

By now, I hope you are wondering why server-side Java isn't being used more.

ContentsIntroductionWhy Server-side Java

Previous: Introduction | Next: Why Web Application Development

Modified: Wed Apr 19 06:06:16 EDT 2000