J2EE for Enterprise Integration - Guide to Cloud Computing for Business and Technology Managers - page 136

RPC layer, which in turn is on top of DCE RPC to enable the communi-
cation among remote objects. DCOM technology uses a binary protocol,
termed Object Remote Procedure Call (ORPC), for distributed communi-
cation among remote objects. Technologies such as Object Linking and
Embedding (OLE), ActiveX, and Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) are
some of Microsoft's technological advancements built on COM and DCOM
technologies.
6.1.3 J2EE
Developed by Dr. James Gosling of Sun Microsystems, Java technology
was introduced in 1995. It was based on a simple idea that a Java Virtual
Machine (JVM) would behave the same way on any platform, and therefore,
applications developed using Java programming language would behave
reliably and consistently on any platform. The Java programming environ-
ment provided unique features unlike any other programming language,
namely, portability and platform independence. The core feature is the Java
Runtime Environment (JRE) that can be made available on any hardware
or operating environment. The application is developed using the Java pro-
gramming language and compiled into platform-independent bytecodes.
This bytecode can then be deployed to run on JRE that is installed on any
compatible system.
Java EE is the server-side extension of Java. The applications are not just Java
objects but are also appropriate server-side components. For creating Web
applications, components such as Java Servlets and JavaServer Pages (JSP)
are used and deployed on Web servers, and these Web servers run on JRE.
Likewise, for creating enterprise applications, components such as Enterprise
JavaBeans (EJB) are developed and deployed, optionally with Web applica-
tions, in application servers. Again, these application servers also run in JRE.
The J2EE platform is controlled by the Java Community Process (JCP).
The JCP is responsible for the development of the whole Java technology.
Anyone can join the JCP and influence the evolution of the Java platform.
Modifications to the platform require consensus among the members of
the JCP process. This guarantees that there will be no rapid changes that
would cut the compatibility with existing software. On the other hand, it
gives the members the possibility to influence its development and direction.
Sun Microsystems (now part of Oracle Corp.) still has the rights on the J2EE
trademark and requires licenses to be paid, but it is the JCP, not Oracle, who
controls the platform.
The J2EE specification, controlled by the JCP, is then implemented by many
different application server vendors who compete in a very large market.
This means that the customer is free to choose the application server and
the vendor and, at a later date, to switch to a different vendor if needed,
but any existing software should be portable between different vendors'
implementations.