Content area
Full Text
BEA's latest take on WebLogic-its Web application-development environment-is filled with new features that make developing applications easier and more rewarding. Our reviewer, Kevin Carlson, thinks highly of the new 8.1 version.
BEA Systems' WebLogic 8.1 has several very nice features that can make development of Web applications a breeze. At the top of my list are Java Page Flows (JPFs), Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) support and the product's integrated debugging tool, all of which help developers build Web applications quickly and with fewer headaches.
JPFs comprise a toolset that allows a developer to easily piece together sections of a Web site, including JavaServer Pages (JSPs), custom controls, Web services and other integration pieces, and combine them into one logical workflow for a section of an application. One of the good things about JPFs is that you can nest one inside another and further increase the opportunity for reuse of code.
Some readers may be familiar with Struts, a Model-View- Controller implementation that is available from the Apache Group. JPF is a very similar model with at least one unique change: In order to handle state, JPF uses a per-session instance of the controller. This allows developers to instance member variables to hold state. Struts differs in that users share an instance of the controller. One perk that BEA provides is the ability to have JPFs interoperate with existing Struts applications. If you have an application written in Struts and are looking for a more friendly development environment, this might be your ticket.
BEA's Workshop development environment is a good step forward for the developer who is constructing Web applications. Given a good set of requirements, a solid information architecture and the necessary integration components, a developer can assemble an application in relatively little time. I was pleasantly surprised at...