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Originally published at Internet.comIntroduction
A few Internet eons ago, Sun Microsystems unleashed a new paradigm in server-side computing, namely Enterprise Java Beans. EJBs were specified as server-side components, i.e., modular, structured and loosely coupled pieces of code that provided a single point of functionality or service.
Using these EJBs, a server-side programmer would be able to construct Web applications and services by simply connecting (also called wiring) various beans, invoking necessary services from them. Server-side computing took a significant step forward with the introduction of the Java 2 Enterprise Edition platform, a comprehensive collection of server-side specific technologies all bundled together. EJBs formed an integral part of this platform. As the platform matured, the EJB specifications also needed revisions. At the time of writing, the latest specification of EJB is a Proposed Final Draft 2 and the latest J2EE is 1.3 Beta. The J2EE specifications have heavy influence on the EJB specs. The EJB 2.0 specification is to be made final very soon, so let's take a peek at what we have in store.
Goals of the EJB 2.0 specification
The Proposed Final Draft 2 specifically lists the goals for the 2.0 specification as: 1. Define the integration of EJB with the Java Message Service (JMS) 2. Provide a local client view and support for efficient, lightweight access to EJBs from local clients 3. Provide improved support for the persistence of entity beans 4. Provide improved support for management of relationships among entity beans 5. Provide a query syntax for entity bean finder methods 6. Provide support for additional methods in the home interface 7. Provide for network interoperability among EJB servers...
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