The goal of the Java Connector Architecture (JCA) is to create a layer of abstraction between Java programs and the Enterprise Information Systems (EISs) in order to hide the messy implementation details of communication between the two systems. Like the JDBC API that provides unified access to relational databases, the JCA provides a unified access to EISs. The J2EE Connector Architecture consists of system contracts and application contracts. The system contracts relate to the well-defined interaction between the application server and the resource adapter. There are three types of system contracts in JCA:
The Common Client Interface (CCI) forms the application contract of the J2EE Connector Architecture. This enables application components and JCA tools to interact in a unified way with resource adapters provided by any vendor as long as the resource adapter is compliant with the JCA specification. The heart of the J2EE Connector Architecture is the resource adapter. The resource adapter is a system library that provides connectivity to an EIS system. The resource adapter is the heart of the J2EE Connector Architecture and interacts with all the participants, such as the application server and application component, as well as the EIS system. |