Enterprise Java Beans

Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006

 What is enterprise bean?
 Server side reusable java component
 Offers services that are hard to implement by the
programmer
 Sun: Enterprise Bean architecture is a component
architecture for the deployment and development
of component-based distributed business
applications. Applications written using enterprise
java beans are scalable, transactional and multi-
user secure. These applications may be written
once and then deployed on any server plattform
that supports enterprise java beans specification.
 Enterprise beans are executed by the J2EE server.
Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006
 History
 EJB specifications were launched in 1997.
 First version EJB 1.0 contained session beans
and entity beans.
 In EJB 2.0 Message Driven Beans were
introduced.
 Current EJB specification is EJB 3.0

Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006

 Services
 Database management
– Database connection pooling
– DataSource, offered by the J2EE server. Needed to
access connection pool of the server.
– Database access is configured to the J2EE server ->
easy to change database / database driver
 Transaction management
– Distributed transactions
– J2EE server offers transaction monitor which can be
accessed by the client.

Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006

 ... Services
 Security management
– Authetication
– Authorization
– encryption

Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006

 ... Services
 Enterprise java beans can be distributed /replicated
into separate machines.
 Distribution/replication is invisible to the
programmer
 Distribution/replication offers
– Load balancing, load can be divided into separate
servers.
– Failover, if one server fails, others can keep on
processing normally.
– Performance, one server is not so heavy loaded. Also,
for example Weblogic has thread pools for improving
performance in one server.
- Example, how distribution is supported by the Weblogic
J2EE server.
Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006
 When to choose EJB?
 Server will be heavy loaded
– Distribution of servers helps to achieve better
performance.
 Server should have replica for the case of failure
of one server.
– Replication is invisible to the programmer
 Distributed transactions are needed
– J2EE server offers transaction monitor that takes care
of transaction management.
– Distributed transactions are invisible to the
programmer.
Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006
 J2EE server offers
 DataSource.
– Object that can be used to achieve database
connection from the connection pool.
– Can be accessed by the interface DataSource
 Transaction monitor
– Can be accessed by the interface
UserTransaction.
 Java Naming and the Directory Service

Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006

XML – deployment descriptor
 Information how enterprise bean is deployed
– Session bean -> stateless vs. statefull
– Entity beans-> CMP vs. BMP
 Transaction attributes / security management
information
 Parameters to the enterprise bean (or other beans
or application)
 ejb-jar.xml + server-specific xml- file
 Packed in a jar – file together with bean classes.

Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006

 Example, ejb-jar.xml
<?xml version=”1.0”?>
<!DOCTYPE ejb-jar PUBLIC
’-//sun microsystems, nc. // DTD Enterprise JavaBeans 1.1//EN’ ’ http://java.sun.com/j2ee/dtds/ejb.jar_1_1.dtd’>
<ejb-jar>
<enterprise-beans>
<session>
<ejb-name>CounterBean</ejb-name>
<home>seminar.example.CounterHome</ejb-name>
<remote>seminar.example.CounterRemote</remote>
<ejb-class>seminar.example.CounterBean<ejb-class>
<session-type>Stateless</session-type>
<transaction-type>Container</transaction-type>
<env-entry>
<description>Malli</description>
<env-entry-name>numero</env-entry-name>
<env-entry-type>java.lang.Interger</env-entry-type>
<env-entry-value>1000</env-entry-value>
</env-entry>
</session>
</enterprise-beans>
</ejb-jar>
</xml>

Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006

 Session Bean
 Stateless
vs. Statefull
 Developer programs three classes:
– Home interface, contains methods for creating
(and locating for entity beans) bean instances.
– Remote interface, contains business methods
the bean offers.
– Bean class, contains the business logic of the
enterprise bean.

Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006

 An example, CounterBean

package seminar.example;
import java.rmi.RemoteException;
import javax.ejb.EJBObject;

public interface Counter extends EJBObject {

public int countAddition(int num1, int num2) throws
RemoteException;
}

Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006

 An Example, CounterBean
package seminar.example;

import java.rmi.RemoteException;
import javax.ejb.CreteException;

public interface CounterHome extends javax.ejb.EJBHome {

public Counter create() throws RemoteException,
CreateException;
}

Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006

 An example, CounterBean
public class CounterBean implements SessionBean {
public SessionContext sessionContext = null;
public static final boolean DEBUG = true;
public void ejbCreate() {}
public void ejbActivate() {}
public void ejbPassivate() {}
public void ejbRemove() {}
public void setSessionContext(SessionContext ctx) {
sessionContext = ctx;
}
public int countAddition(int first, int second) throwRemoteException{
// ... implementation goes here
}
} Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006
 Entity Beans
 Represents one row in the database.
– Easy way to access database
– business logic concept to manipulate data.
 Container
managed persistence vs. bean
managed persistence.

Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006

 Entity Beans
 Programmer creates three or four classes:
– Home interface for locating beans
– Remote interface that contains business methods for
clients.
– Bean class that implements bean’s behaviour.
– Primary key class – that represents primary key in the
database. Used to locate beans.
 Primary key class is not needed if primary key is a
single field that could be java class (for example,
Integer).

Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006

 Entity Beans
 Some application builders can generate
Entity beans from the database tables.
– For example, Jbuilder 6 enterprise edition has
an tool for creating entity beans.
 Entitybeans are effective when application
wants to access one row at a time. If many
rows needs to be fetched, using session
beans can be better alternative.
Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006
 Transactions
 CMP vs. BMP.
 CMP: Transactional behaviour in beans are
defined in transaction attributes of the
methods.
 BMP: Programmer has to write a code that
implements transactional behaviour to the
bean class.

Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006

 Transactions
 J2EE server offers transaction monitor that
takes care of transactions.
 Transaction context can be accessed by
client or bean by UserTransaction interface.
– Client can fetch reference to the transaction
context by jndi.
– Bean can fetch reference to the transaction
context by Session-/EntityContext – object.

Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006

 Transaction attributes
 Bean managed
– marks that the bean or the method manages it’s own
transactions by using UserTransaction interface.
 Required
– If client has started transaction, bean is associated to
the same transaction. If client has not started a
transaction, creates a new transaction.
 Supports
– If client had started a transaction, bean is associated to
the same transaction. Otherwice method is executed
without transaction.
Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006
 ... Transaction attributes
 Requires new
– Creates a new transaction, when method is invoked.
Transaction last only that method call.
 Mandatory
– If transaction has not started before calling the method,
exeption is thrown.
 Never
– Exception is thrown, if method is called in transaction.

Anand Kulkarni - IndicThreads.com Java Meet - May 2006