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Java Editions

Java Card
Micro Edition (ME)
Standard Edition (SE)
Enterprise Edition (EE)
JavaFX
PersonalJava (discontinued)

Java Platform, Enterprise Edition or Java EE is Oracle's enterprise java computing platform. The platform provides an API and runtime environment for developing and running enterprise software, including network and web services, and other large-scale, multi-tiered, scalable, reliable, and secure network applications. Java EE extends the Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE)^[1], providing an API for object-relational mapping, distributed and multi-tier architectures, and web services. The platform incorporates a design based largely on modular components running on an application server. Software for Java EE is primarily developed in the Java programming language and uses XML for configuration.

Nomenclature, standards, and specifications[link]

The platform was known as Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition or J2EE until the name was changed to Java EE in version 5. The current version is called Java EE 6.

Java EE is defined by its specification. As with other Java Community Process specifications, providers must meet certain conformance requirements in order to declare their products as Java EE compliant.

Java EE includes several API specifications, such as JDBC, RMI, e-mail, JMS, web services, XML, etc., and defines how to coordinate them. Java EE also features some specifications unique to Java EE for components. These include Enterprise JavaBeans, Connectors, servlets, JavaServer Pages and several web service technologies. This allows developers to create enterprise applications that are portable and scalable, and that integrate with legacy technologies. A Java EE application server can handle transactions, security, scalability, concurrency and management of the components that are deployed to it, in order to enable developers to concentrate more on the business logic of the components rather than on infrastructure and integration tasks.

General APIs[link]

The Java EE APIs includes several technologies that extend the functionality of the base Java SE APIs.

• Java EE 6 Platform Packages
• Java EE 5 Platform Packages

[edit] javax.faces.*

This package defines the root of the JavaServer Faces (JSF) API. JSF is a technology for constructing user interfaces out of components

[edit] javax.faces.component.*

This package defines the component part of the JavaServer Faces (JSF) API. Since JSF is primarily component oriented, this is one of the core packages. The package overview contains a UML diagram of the component hierarchy.

[edit] javax.servlet.*

The servlet specification defines a set of APIs to service mainly HTTP requests. It includes the JavaServer Pages specification.

[edit] javax.enterprise.inject.*

These packages define the injection annotations for the contexts and Dependency Injection (CDI) API.

[edit] javax.enterprise.context.*

These packages define the context annotations and interfaces for the Contexts and Dependency Injection (CDI) API.

[edit] javax.ejb.*

The Enterprise JavaBean (EJB) specification defines a set of lightweight APIs that an object container (the EJB container) will support in order to provide transactions (using JTA), remote procedure calls (using RMI or RMI-IIOP), concurrency control, dependency injection and access control for business objects. This package contains the Enterprise JavaBeans classes and interfaces that define the contracts between the enterprise bean and its clients and between the enterprise bean and the ejb container.

[edit] javax.validation.*

This package contains the annotations and interfaces for the declarative validation support offered by the Bean Validation API. Bean Validation provides a unified way to provide constraints on beans (e.g. JPA model classes) that can be enforced cross-layer. In Java EE, JPA honors bean validation constraints in the persistence layer, while JSF does so in the view layer.

[edit] javax.persistence.*

This package contains the classes and interfaces that define the contracts between a persistence provider and the managed classes and the clients of the Java Persistence API (JPA).

[edit] javax.transaction.*

This package provides the Java Transaction API (JTA) API that contains the interfaces to interact with the transaction support offered by Java EE. Even though this API abstracts from the really low-level details, it is itself also considered somewhat low-level and the average application developer in Java EE is assumed to be relying on transparent handling of transactions by the higher level EJB abstractions.

[edit] javax.jms.*

This package defines the Java Message Service (JMS) API. The JMS API provides a common way for Java programs to create, send, receive and read an enterprise messaging system's messages.

[edit] javax.resource.*

This package defines the Java EE Connector Architecture (JCA) API. Java EE Connector Architecture (JCA) is a Java-based technology solution for connecting application servers and enterprise information systems (EIS) as part of enterprise application integration (EAI) solutions. This is a low-level API aimed at vendors that the average application developer typically does not come in contact with.

Certified application servers[link]

Java EE 6 certified[link]

Official Oracle page for Java EE Compatibility.

Full[link]

• GlassFish server Open Source Edition 3.x and upward^[2]
• Oracle GlassFish Server 3,^[3] based on the open source GlassFish application server
• Oracle WebLogic Server12c^[4]
• JBoss Application Server 7.1^[5]
• IBM WebSphere Application Server v8.^[6]
• IBM WebSphere Application Server Community Edition v3.0^[7]
• Apache Geronimo v3.0-beta-1 [1]^[8]
• Fujitsu Interstage Application Server powered by Windows Azure V1^[9]
• JEUS 7, an application server from JCP member TmaxSoft.^[10][11]

Web Profile[link]

• JBoss Application Server 6.0. [2]
• JBoss Application Server 7.0 [3]
• GlassFish server Open Source Edition 3.x Web Profile
• Caucho Resin 4.0.^[12]
• Apache TomEE^[13][14]

In development for full Java EE 6[link]

• JOnAS 5.3 An open-source application server from OW2^[15] [4]

In development for Java EE 6 Web Profile[link]

• JOnAS 5.3 An open-source application server from OW2 [5]

Java EE 5 certified[link]

• GlassFish Server Open Source Edition 2.1.x^[2]
• Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 9.0, based on the open-source GlassFish application server with commercial support from Sun Microsystems
• Oracle WebLogic Application Server 10.3.5.0
• Oracle Containers for Java EE
• JBoss Application Server 5.1^[16][17]
• JBoss Enterprise Application Platform
• IBM WebSphere Application Server V7
• IBM WebSphere Application Server Community Edition 2.1^[18], based on Apache Geronimo
• Apache Geronimo 2.0
• JOnAS an open-source application server from OW2
• SAP NetWeaver Application Server, Java EE 5 Edition from SAP
• JEUS 6, an application server from TmaxSoft
• NEC WebOTX, an Application Server from NEC
• Fujitsu Interstage Application Server

J2EE 1.4 certified[link]

• Sun Java System Web Server
• Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 8.2
• BEA Systems WebLogic server 9
• Oracle Application Server 10g
• JBoss Application Server 4.x
• IBM WebSphere Application Server (WAS)
• Apache Geronimo 1.0
• JOnAS, an open-source application server from OW2
• Resin, an application server with integrated XML support
• Pramati Server 5.0
• SAP NetWeaver Application Server from SAP AG
• JEUS 5 from TmaxSoft
• T4 from Trifork
• Enterprise Application Server EAServer from Sybase

Differences between implementations[link]

Although by definition all Java EE implementations provide the same base level of technologies (namely, the Java EE spec and the associated APIs), they can differ considerably with respect to extra features (like connectors, clustering, fault tolerance, high availability, security, etc.), installed size, memory footprint, startup time, etc.

See also[link]

Java portal

• Web container
• Deployment Descriptor
• Java BluePrints
• Sun Java System Portal Server
• Java EE version history
• Sun Community Source License
• Java Research License

References[link]

1. ^ http://docs.oracle.com/javaee/6/firstcup/doc/gkhoy.html
2. ^ ^{a b} https://glassfish.dev.java.net/public/comparing_v2_and_v3.html
3. ^ http://java.sun.com/javaee/overview/compatibility.jsp
4. ^ http://wcc.on24.com/event/37/57/27/rt/1/documents/player_docanchr_3/weblogic12c_launch_tech_webinar_v8.pdf
5. ^ http://planet.jboss.org/post/jboss_as_7_1_0_final_thunder_released_java_ee_6_full_profile_certified
6. ^ http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/websphere/techjournal/1106_alcott/1106_alcott.html
7. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_WebSphere_Application_Server_Community_Edition
8. ^ http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Apache-Geronimo-fully-certified-for-Java-EE-6-1378384.html
9. ^ http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javaee/community/default-452835.html
10. ^ http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javaee/tmax-javaee6-141684.html
11. ^ http://us.tmaxsoft.com/jsp/product/detailcontents.jsp?psCd=00PD04&menuCd=00PDMSJE
12. ^ http://www.caucho.com/articles/Caucho_Web%20Profile%20JavaEE6_whitepaper_byRR.pdf
13. ^ http://openejb.apache.org/3.0/apache-tomee.html
14. ^ http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-apache-software-foundation-announces-apache-tomee-certified-as-java-ee-6-web-profile-compatible-2011-10-04
15. ^ http://wiki.jonas.ow2.org/xwiki/bin/view/Roadmap/5_3
16. ^ Java EE Compatibility
17. ^ JBoss AS is now EE5 certified
18. ^ IBM WebSphere Application Server Community Edition

External links[link]

• Oracle Technology Network's Java EE
• Oracle's Java EE Compatibility page - Certified Java EE Compatible Implementations
• Core J2EE Patterns

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