Oracle Database Management Strategic Directions

1. Best Practices for managing Oracle database servers.
2. Oracle Fusion Middleware products like J2EE, ADF, XML, BPEL, SOA, Web Services, Discoverer...).
3. Oracle Application Servers and Apache.

Oracle Fusion blog topics include:

• Oracle Fusion: Service Oriented Architecture
  
• Oracle Fusion: Java
  
• Oracle Fusion: Internet Development Tools
  
• Oracle Fusion: JDeveloper 10gR3
  
• Oracle Fusion: Trubix Training Roadmap
  
• Oracle Fusion: Key Components
  
• Oracle Fusion: The Oracle Fusion Technical Platform
  

Java is a portable language that runs in PDAs, browsers, Web Servers, Application Servers and Database Servers. Java is getting faster and faster every year. Java as a language has gone through different versions over the years for example, JDK 1.3, JDK 1.4, JDK 1.5 and JDK 1.6. A version of Java has different editions.

The Java Enterprise Edition (J2EE) is a version that runs in application server environments. J2EE is also an architectural platform for enterprise level applications. J2EE supports applications running across the Client, Web, Application and Enterprise Information System (EIS or database tier). Some of the benefits of J2EE include:scalability, portability, maintainability and reusability.
J2EE supports a lot of different types of Java applications. Some of the J2EE components include:

• Java Servlets
  
• JavaServer Pages
  
• Enterprise JavaBeans
  
• Web Services
  
• Remote Method Invocation (RMI-IIOP)
  
• Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI)
  
• Java DataBase Connectivity (JDBC)
  
• Java Message Service
  
• Java Transaction API
  
• Java Activation Framework (JAF)
  
• ava Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS)
  
• Java API for XML Processing (JAXP)
  
• SOAP with Attachments API for Java (SAAJ)

Java 2, Enterprise Edition 1.4 - There are different Java Editions:

• J2ME: Micro Edition – No GUI classes, no Swing, minimum required for mobile devices.
  
• J2SE: Standard Edition – Micro Edition plus extras for desktop applications. The Standard Edition does not need an Application Server. Uses Swing and AWT for user interfaces. Swing and AWT contain Java classes for user interfaces.
  
• J2EE: Enterprise Edition – Standard Edition plus support for enterprise solutions that run on application servers. Requires an Application Server to run.

The J2EE 1.5 edition has been renamed to Java 5.0. The external name is 5.0, the internal name for Sun is 1.5. The new editions are named:

• Java ME 5.0
  
• Java SE 5.0
  
• Java EE 5.0

The Oracle database and application server support different releases of Java. For example The Oracle database server supports:

• Oracle 9i (JDK 1.3)
  
• Oracle 10g (JDK 1.4)
  
• Oracle 11g (JDK 1.5)

The Oracle Database Server supports the Standard Edition without the GUI APIs. There is no reason to create a button or drop down list in the Oracle kernel.

The Oracle Application Server runs the Enterprise Edition. The Oracle 10g Application Server 10.1.3 supports the JDK 1.5 version of Java.

There are a lot of options of how to combine different types of Java applications to build an enterprise application. Components like JavaServer Pages (JSP), Servlets, Java Server Faces (JSF), ADF Faces are some of the options for buildling user interfaces. Enterprise JavaBeans contain the business logic for enterprise applications.

Java compiler technology has involved significantly to improve the performance of Java applications. Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) contains APIs for performing database operations. JDBC drivers (communication between database and Java programs) has improved significantly to improve the performance of Java database applications. The performance and scalability of Java applications continue to improve.

XML has added a lot to Java flexibility. Features like JavaServer Faces and ADF Faces increase flexibility by leveraging the benefits of XML.

One of the challenges is that there is a significant learning path for getting up to speed on Java. A sample training path for just Java includes the list below. Be aware that this is a path for a senior development lead. Most Java programmers can start with the first four classes to build Enterprise applications.

• Java Fundamentals (J2SE)
  
• Java 2 Enterprise Edition
  
• Web Services
  
• XML
  
• SOA