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You've seen how Microsoft provides tools that allow you to build applications in J# (and other .NET-supported languages) that can interoperate with components created using other technologies. However, Microsoft has concentrated on defining mechanisms for communicating between components built and running using Microsoft's own infrastructure ”primarily because this is what Microsoft knows best and because so many other technologies are out there that it would be impossible for Microsoft to provide interfaces to them all. This state of affairs also leads to a healthy market for third-party integration tools, so it should be seen as an opportunity rather than a shortcoming on Microsoft's part. However, at times you'll need to integrate with other systems. In the Java arena, this will primarily involve communicating with J2EE servers running Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs) and services running under CORBA. Depending on your level of ingenuity and what you're willing to spend on third-party software, a number of solutions are available, including (in no particular order):
The Real Solution: XML Web ServicesThe list in the previous section was intentionally short on details. These days, if you ask any of the major software and platform vendors about the best way to integrate disparate systems of varying architecture, you'll get the same answer: Use XML Web services. In the final chapters of this book, we'll cover XML Web services as implemented by the current release of .NET, so we won't go into much detail here. The major computing platform vendors are often at each other's throats, so when they all agree on something it is a significant event. Such is the case with Web services. Based on XML and HTTP, the fundamental Web service architecture is platform neutral and vendor independent. Before we get too carried away, though, be warned that the Web services available now are not the finished article ”they're merely a good starting point. For example, Web services do not provide much support for transactions, security, remote events, and so on. (Some vendors provide implementations of these features, but they are by no means accepted across the board.) The next step is the Global XML Web Services Architecture (GXA). Microsoft, along with other vendors and organizations, is working to define a series of standards that cover the requirement to implement high-performance, distributed, fault-tolerant messaging across heterogeneous networks. If you want more information about GXA, a good starting point is the paper published by Microsoft at http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dngxa/html/gloxmlws500.asp. |
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