Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-09
2004-06-22
Mizrahi, Diane D. (Department: 2175)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06754659
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of object-oriented programming for building component-based distributed business applications using the Enterprise JavaBeans™ architecture and, more particularly, to a method and system for running application code originally developed as simple Java beans, in an Enterprise JavaBean (EJB) environment, without modifying the original application code.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Java programming system is an object-oriented system utilizing the Java programming language and is particularly valuable for use in a distributed environment such as the Internet. The convergence of the electronic entertainment and consumer industries with data processing exponentially accelerated the demand for wide ranging communications distribution channels, and the explosion of the World Wide Web propelled the Java system and language to the forefront of computer technology. For details and background with respect to the Java system, reference may be made to a typical text, “Just Java”, Second Edition, Peter van der Linden, Sun Microsystems, 1997. Throughout the 1990s, thousands of programs were written to exploit the abilities of the Java system and language. A specific example of one such program is the IBM product called “Host Publisher”, discussed in more detail below.
The Java programming system involves the definition, creation, and use of “objects”. These objects are software entities, comprising data elements (called “properties” or “attributes”), and “methods” which manipulate the data elements. The Java programming language can be used to create complete applications that can be run on a single computer or be distributed among servers and clients in a network.
The JavaBeans™ API (Application Programmer's Interface) is a widely used API in Java programming. A Java bean is a basic Java object which adheres to certain naming conventions for its methods and properties; namely, Java beans have properties (i.e., data fields) and provide access to those properties via “setter” and “getter” methods. Generically known as “accessors”, setters modify the value of a data field and getters obtain the value of a field from a location identified in the bean. Java beans and their common properties and functions are described in detail in the text, “Java in a Nut Shell,” 2nd. Edition by David Flanagan, published by O'Reilly and Assoc. Inc., California, 1997, particularly Chapter 10, pp. 178-189.
The goal of the Java bean model is its commonality and interoperability with other beans to form a combination component or bean, and the Java bean, like Java itself, was widely accepted in the industry and was (and is) utilized to develop and enhance thousands of computer programs. Beans have defined common interfaces and thus, when beans are connectable via their common interfaces, the interfacing beans may export to each other 1) properties or attributes, 2) events and 3) methods.
IBM's “Host Publisher” is an example of a program that was developed based on the Java bean model. It is a solution, specifically designed for building Web applications, that extracts information from “legacy” terminal-oriented applications based on 3270, 5250, and VT data streams, as well as relational databases. A legacy application is an application based on languages, platforms, and/or techniques earlier than the currently-available technology. Legacy applications present a significant challenge to enterprises, in that the legacy applications often perform operations critical to the enterprise and must be kept running while being converted to the current technology.
For terminal-oriented applications, Host Publisher provides tools for building Java beans that can extract information from those applications without modifying the applications themselves. Using Host Publisher, a legacy application, e.g., one based on a 3270 data stream, can be navigated through its various screens by a Host Publisher Java bean known as an “Integration Object” or “IO”.
FIG. 1
illustrates a typical Java bean environment according to the prior art. A client Java application/JSP
100
(a Java Server Pages (JSP) page is an example of a client Java application) creates instances of Java beans JB
101
, JB
102
, JB
103
. . . , Jbn. The client Java application/JSP
100
invokes the setter methods of Java bean JB
101
to provide the “input property” values. Input properties could be, for example, the last and first name of a person whose directory information is being accessed by running a Host Application
130
. Next, the client Java application/JSP
100
invokes the “execution methods” of the Java bean JB
101
to direct it to perform the required functions with regard to the Host Application
130
. An execution method is typically an instruction or instruction set that directs the Java bean to run a “macro” that would run the Host Application
130
. This execution of the Host Application
130
causes data to be retrieved from a legacy data source or program and presented on a screen, which data is then extracted and placed in the output properties of the Java bean. In the context of the example discussed above, the output data could be specific information from the directory of the person identified by the input properties; this information is called “output properties.” Processing control is then returned to the Client Java application/JSP
100
, which invokes the getter methods of the Java bean JB
101
to retrieve the data in the output properties.
The information from various screens is extracted in this manner and can be can be used to generate a Web page dynamically. The Web page can then be presented to a browser user who is not familiar with the 3270 application's user interface. This enables legacy application rejuvenation, and allows the investment in the existing application to be exploited for competitive advantage. Host Publisher has been an extremely useful and successful product and is utilized by many for building dynamic Web pages based on legacy applications.
In connection with Sun Microsystems' delivery of the Java2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) platform in December of 1999, a technology known as EJB (Enterprise Java Bean) technology was developed, and EJB support is the cornerstone of the J2EE platform. Despite its name, an EJB is not a Java bean; it is an industry standard architecture for running server-side business logic, providing additional benefits of locatability in a network, and scalability. Among other improvements, EJB technology reduces time to market for enterprise-class applications. J2EE and EJB's have received widespread industry support and growing customer acceptance and increased investment focus has been placed on EJB and J2EE technology by the industry. A problem exists, however, since many products, such as Host Publisher, are based on Java bean technology and will not readily function with EJB technology.
One method of enabling a Java bean (such as a Host Publisher IO) to run in an EJB environment involves a very cumbersome process of rewriting and compiling each Java bean to follow EJB coding conventions and use supporting APIs, i.e., creating a custom EJB that performs the same functions as the Java bean, and repeating this step for each Java bean. For example, when attempting to utilize a Host Publisher IO to screen-scrape a program operating in an EJB environment, the IO, which as mentioned above, is a Host Publisher-specific Java bean, cannot run in an EJB environment.
FIG. 2
is a block diagram illustrating this rewriting and compiling process. Referring to
FIG. 2
, a series of Java Beans JB
201
, JB
202
, JB
203
. . . , JB
2
n
are shown. Since these Java beans will not function in an EJB environment, the code of each Java bean JB
201
, JB
202
, JB
203
, . . . , JB
2
n
is rewritten following EJB coding conventions and recompiled using the standard Java compiler. This can be accomplished by a Java programmer using standard Java tools. Thus, JB
201
is rewritten and compile
Labrecque Daniel J.
Pogue Steven W.
Sarkar Soumitra
Herndon Jerry W.
Mizrahi Diane D.
Mofiz Apu
Synnestvedt & Lechner LLP
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