Pierre Bernard

My little hideout on the net

WebObjects

WebObjects is Apple’s pure Java application server. NeXT pioneered the application server market with this excellent piece of software long before Java even existed. If this is news to you, check out the WebObjects product pages.

Even as the application server market expands, Apple still offers the most versatile solution.

The persistence layer offered by the Enterprise Objects Framework (EOF) is a very powerful tool that compares well to the much hyped EJBs, by actually providing object persistence - not just hooks for you to plug into - even in complex object-to-relational mapping sitations. In fact, EJBs focus mainly on object distribution and end up being a non-portable equivalent to CORBA with virtually no object persistence. EOF however specialises in fine grained object persistence, making it the more likely candidate for OO applications that need database access.

In fact, WebObjects and J2EE complement eachother. The EOF layer may come in handy for implementing bean managed persistence. On the other hand, a J2EE container may be used as deployment environment for a WebObjects application.

While WebObjects supports Java clients and standalone applications, it is mostly used to create thin client web applications. Again it can outperform its closest competitor, JSP, by providing a clean architecture that separates HTML files from Java code. In fact, WebObjects uses an architecture of reusable components for an object oriented approach to interface building.

Well, there is so much more to say, but some day you will have to check it out on your own. I will, of course, be glad to engage in further discussion. Just email me.

Links

Houdah WebObjects frameworks Open source project providing a D2W replacement for developing powerful CRUD applications. And more...
Project WONDER A collection of frameworks and tools for the WebObjects application server
Lindesay Electric : LEWOStuff LEWOStuff is a set of frameworks and libraries developed by Andrew Lindesay
Apple - WebObjects Apple's official WebObjects homepage
Apple’s own development mailing list (Archives, Alternative archives) Replacement of Apple’s WebObjects development discussion board
Apple’s own development mailing list (Archives, Alternative archives) Replacement of Apple’s WebObjects development discussion board
Apple’s own deployment mailing list (Archives, Alternative archives) Replacement of Apple’s WebObjects deployment discussion board
WikiBooks Tips & tricks reference
WODeveloper Sample code
WOCode Sample code
WebObjects Showcase Showcase for public WebObjects sites
rentzsch.com: WebObjects Jonathan 'Wolf' Rentzsch's blog