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Originally published at Internet.comWe have seen the maturing of information management as the World Wide Web has grown from static hyperlinked documents to a mix of static and dynamic content. Along with this, we have seen the evolution of the application server, focused upon providing Web access to legacy data stores and dynamically generated content.
First-generation application servers were focused upon providing a rapid development approach to Common Gateway Interface (CGI) solutions. Second-generation application servers used Java and the growing J2EE specification to provide a uniform, cross-platform approach to building Web applications. As more APIs were rolled into J2EE and as acceptance of J2EE has grown, users have found better ways of designing and building Web applications.
As more and more features get rolled into these J2EE application servers, spurred both by user demand and the competition of vendors busy distinguishing themselves in the marketplace, a new architecture is being pushed by several companies. These companies identify the need for J2EE application servers and the solutions built on them to be adaptable and flexible to new technologies. As the J2EE specification grows, along with Web services, the need for a services oriented approach to application servers and applications is necessary to keep vendors and enterprise development groups responsive and iterative in their deployment...
Read article at Internet.com site