How to Read This Tutorial
The Java EE 5 platform is quite large, and this tutorial reflects this. However, you don't have to digest everything in it at once. The tutorial has been divided into parts to help you navigate the content more easily.
This tutorial opens with an introductory chapter, which you should read before proceeding to any specific technology area. Chapter 1 covers the Java EE 5 platform architecture and APIs along with the Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 9.
When you have digested the basics, you can delve into one or more of the five main technology areas listed next. Because there are dependencies between some of the chapters, Figure 1 contains a roadmap for navigating through the tutorial.
- The web-tier technology chapters cover the components used in developing the presentation layer of a Java EE 5 or stand-alone web application:
- The web services technology chapters cover the APIs used in developing standard web services:
- The Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) technology chapters cover the components used in developing the business logic of a Java EE 5 application:
- The Persistence technology chapters cover the Java Persistence API, which is used for accessing databases from Java EE applications:
- The platform services chapters cover the system services used by all the Java EE 5 component technologies:
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Figure 1 Roadmap to This Tutorial
After you have become familiar with some of the technology areas, you are ready to tackle the case studies, which tie together several of the technologies discussed in the tutorial. The Coffee Break Application describes an application that uses the web application and web services APIs. The Duke's Bank Application describes an application that employs web application technologies, enterprise beans, and the Java Persistence API.
Finally, the appendix contains information about Java encoding schemes that may be helpful to the Java EE 5 application developer.