Chapter 1: Microsoft .NET and J2EE Fundamentals

Overview

As mentioned in the Introduction, this book will appeal to two audiences. The first of these is developers who have a background in either Java, the Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) platform, or both, and want to develop solutions that interoperate with Microsoft .NET. The second audience is developers who are accustomed to working with Microsoft .NET (and probably have a Microsoft Windows DNA background) and want to build solutions that interoperate with existing Java or J2EE implementations . In addition, many developers reading this book will have some exposure to both platforms.

This chapter offers two sections that serve as a primer to the terminology and technical details used in the book. One section covers terminology for Microsoft .NET and is specifically targeted at existing Java and J2EE developers. The other covers Java and J2EE technology for developers more accustomed to Microsoft products.

These two sections provide a view of the technology of each platform that will appeal to developers working on the other platform ” ideally using familiar terms and language. I thought providing these sections would be more helpful to you than simply posting a glossary of terms at the end of the book. Use these sections as either a walk-through or a reference when you encounter an unfamiliar term in the book. These two sections won't drill too deeply into any particular element of either platform, nor will they cover topics that will be explained in more detail in later chapters. Moreover, these sections aren't meant to be a showdown between the two platforms.

Later in this chapter, you'll find a table that provides a mapping between .NET Framework technologies and their Java counterparts. I use this table as a resource in presentations I make within the developer community to help clarify the terms and APIs developers might encounter on both platforms when designing solutions that must interoperate between them.