Chapter 2: Choosing a Web Application Architecture

Overview

The J2EE specification defines many different technologies in great detail, but it does not actually define the architecture of a J2EE application. For example, the EJB specification describes the behaviors and characteristics of both entity beans and session beans and the rules that dictate how they are to be managed by the application server, but the specification does not define the proper choice for a given application. It is up to the system architect on the project to define rules governing the use of entity beans, session beans, and other EJB components .

Similarly, the J2EE specification defines the two key technologies for Web applications, Java servlets and JSP pages, but it does not specify how they should be used in an application. As a result, the J2EE community has adopted a wide variety of de facto standards and design patterns for architecting Web applications based on lessons learned by early adopters.

This chapter examines the presentation requirements that drive Web application architectures and makes specific recommendations to help you choose an appropriate architecture for your WebLogic Server application.