Aplication Server, To have or not

[Chris Lethare]

Hi!

I am in a discussion at work wether to implement an application server or not when using
java in a GNU/Linux environment.

The apps that are supposed to be written in java will reveice transactions from a socket and
depending on the transaction it will do some logic (select/update/insert from MySql) and deliver an answer on the same socket. If we do not use an application server we will just start
a C deamon that starts the java code. There will be several java applications running on the system this way and each of them will have its unique task.


Why should I use an application server? In my eyes this only complicates the system and it
will be harder to maintain and trace errors. I looked at JBoss and it seems like an overkill
product for my purposes. We do not need cluster cause this is taking care of by the
hardware on the network.


So can someone please point out when to use application server and when not to.


/Chris

 

[Wendy Smoak]

The apps that are supposed to be written in java will reveice transactions
from a socket and
depending on the transaction it will do some logic (select/update/insert
from MySql) and deliver
an answer on the same socket. If we do not use an application server we
will just start
a C deamon that starts the java code. There will be several java
applications running on
the system this way and each of them will have its unique task.

Why should I use an application server? In my eyes this only complicates
the system and it
will be harder to maintain and trace errors. I looked at JBoss and it
seems like an overkill
product for my purposes. We do not need cluster cause this is taking care
of by the
hardware on the network.

So can someone please point out when to use application server and when
not to.

When you need one, and not if you don't. JBoss does sound like overkill
here. Tomcat, however, might be useful... it will give you a manageable
environment for all of these apps to live in, handle the threading for you,
etc. You can group the tasks into 'webapps' and stop/start them together
while not affecting other groups. (And publish documentation right
alongside them...)

Assuming you don't want to go the whole "Web Services" route, you could just
have a Servlet receiving requests for each of your 'tasks'. So something
out there sends a request to http://www.example.com:8765/appname/TaskName .
The corresponding Servlet parses the request [which could be anything...]
does what it needs to do, and responds.

That's still probably overkill for what you want to do... now. But what if
this thing grows? And how easy is it to maintain? Think about the next guy
who's going to have to work on it.

 

[iksrazal]

Why should I use an application server? In my eyes this only complicates the system and it
will be harder to maintain and trace errors. I looked at JBoss and it seems like an overkill
product for my purposes. We do not need cluster cause this is taking care of by the
hardware on the network.


So can someone please point out when to use application server and when not to.


/Chris

IMHO, the value of a full app server is becomming less and less
everyday. Politically what an app server can provide is CYA and
marketing. Technically it seperates stock Java and Tomcat by providing
JMS and EJB, although openjms is available for tomcat. An example of
days past is a Datasource, now a commodity. Without needing clustering
the reasons are even less.

What EJB can offer is transaction support and security. However,
Hibernate - which EJB 3.0 largely intends to mimmick when it arrives -
IMHO does a much better job in a less intrusive way. The Spring project
- which should be given a look at for any Java project - reduces lines
of code by providing boiler plate operations, replacing the need for
Abstract Factories, and in general is a great fit for Hibernate or
alternatively pure SQL coding. The Spring sub-project Acegi does the
security part.

So in short, IMHO, Spring and Hibernate is a reaction to your type of
question. Or even simpler - a small project could get away with pure
JDBC just fine.

HTH,
iksrazal
http://www.braziloutsource.com/

 

[Roedy Green]

So can someone please point out when to use application server and when not to.

it depends on how long it takes to fire up the application.

The downside is client A using the server can possibly screw it up for
client B coming later. The old fashioned way, each client starts
afresh.

--
Bush crime family lost/embezzled $3 trillion from Pentagon.
Complicit Bush-friendly media keeps mum. Rumsfeld confesses on video.
http://www.infowars.com/articles/us/mckinney_grills_rumsfeld.htm

Canadian Mind Products, Roedy Green.
See http://mindprod.com/iraq.html photos of Bush's war crimes

 

[Joan]

Hi!

I am in a discussion at work wether to implement an application server or not when using
java in a GNU/Linux environment.

The apps that are supposed to be written in java will reveice transactions from a socket and
depending on the transaction it will do some logic (select/update/insert

from MySql) and deliver an answer on the same socket. If we do not use an
application server we will just start

a C deamon that starts the java code. There will be several java

applications running on the system this way and each of them will have its
unique task.

Why should I use an application server? In my eyes this only complicates the system and it
will be harder to maintain and trace errors. I looked at JBoss and it seems like an overkill
product for my purposes. We do not need cluster cause this is taking care of by the
hardware on the network.


So can someone please point out when to use application server and when not to.

Definitions of Application Server on the Web:

a.. An application server is a server program in a computer within a
distributed network that provides the business logic for an application
program. The application server is frequently viewed as part of a three-tier
application, consisting of a graphical user interface (GUI) server, an
application (business logic) server, and a database and transaction server.
www.lanyon.com/support/Glossary/Glossarya-d.htm

 

[Raymond DeCampo]

Hi!

I am in a discussion at work wether to implement an application server or not when using
java in a GNU/Linux environment.

The apps that are supposed to be written in java will reveice transactions from a socket and
depending on the transaction it will do some logic (select/update/insert from MySql) and deliver an answer on the same socket. If we do not use an application server we will just start
a C deamon that starts the java code. There will be several java applications running on the system this way and each of them will have its unique task.


Why should I use an application server? In my eyes this only complicates the system and it
will be harder to maintain and trace errors. I looked at JBoss and it seems like an overkill
product for my purposes. We do not need cluster cause this is taking care of by the
hardware on the network.


So can someone please point out when to use application server and when not to.

A major consideration is that a secure, reliable server is difficult to
write. If the application is on a machine exposed to the public
Internet, I would stick with an application server.

Ray

 

[Dale King]

IMHO, the value of a full app server is becomming less and less
everyday. Politically what an app server can provide is CYA and
marketing. Technically it seperates stock Java and Tomcat by providing
JMS and EJB, although openjms is available for tomcat. An example of
days past is a Datasource, now a commodity. Without needing clustering
the reasons are even less.

Here is an interview with Peter Yared, a former CTO of Sun, that says
app servers once had value but that value is less and pretty much
non-existent with XML and web services.

http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail514.html