Today, more and more developers want to write distributed transactional applications for the enterprise and thereby leverage the speed, security, and reliability of server-side technology. If you are already working in this area, you know that in the fast-moving and demanding world of e-commerce and information technology, enterprise applications must be designed, built, and produced for less money, with greater speed, and with fewer resources than ever before.

To reduce costs and fast-track application design and development, the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) provides a component-based approach to the design, development, assembly, and deployment of enterprise applications. The J2EE platform offers a multitiered distributed application model, reusable components, a unified security model, flexible transaction control, and web services support through integrated data interchange on Extensible Markup Language (XML)-based open standards and protocols.

Not only can you deliver innovative business solutions to market faster than ever, but also your platform-independent J2EE component-based solutions are not tied to the products and application programming interfaces (APIs) of any one vendor. Vendors and customers enjoy the freedom to choose the products and components that best meet their business and technological requirements.

This tutorial uses examples to describe the features and functionalities available in the J2EE platform version 1.4 for developing enterprise applications. Whether you are a new or an experienced developer, you should find the examples and accompanying text a valuable and accessible knowledge base for creating your own solutions.

If you are new to J2EE enterprise application development, this chapter is a good place to start. Here you will review development basics, learn about the J2EE architecture and APIs, become acquainted with important terms and concepts, and find out how to approach J2EE application programming, assembly, and deployment.

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