Application assembly in Version 5

Application assembly in Version 5

Version 3.5.x developers use the administrative console to create, edit, and view application configurations. Version 4.x and Version 5 developers use the Application Assembly Tool (AAT) to package, edit, and view J2EE applications. For more information, see Application Assembly Tool in the Application Development topic.

Note: Any development tool that is capable of building and packaging J2EE 1.3 applications may be used instead of the AAT to assemble applications. The WebSphere Studio Application Developer (WSAD) and WebSphere Development Studio Client (WDSC) development tools include robust tools (such as wizards and panels) that allow applications to be packaged into J2EE Web archive (WAR) and enterprise archive (EAR) files. If such tools are used to package applications, then they are used in place of the AAT.

Packaging J2EE applications includes:

Copying appropriate files into the enterprise archive (EAR) file, including classes, JSP files, HTML, and image files.

Defining deployment descriptor files for modules and applications.

In Version 5, the Application Assembly Tool supports both steps by enabling users to copy files with appropriate relative paths into the archive, as well as by providing a GUI method for defining deployment descriptors. Developers also can set environment-specific binding information through the AAT. These bindings are defaults for the administrator to use when installing the application through the administrative console.

You can define IBM extensions to the J2EE specification, such as to allow servlets to be served by class name. To ensure portability to other application servers, these extensions are saved in an XML file that is separate from the standard J2EE deployment descriptor.

Migration of APIs and specifications means moving to the current Java component level and to other technologies that IBM WebSphere Application Server, Version 5 supports. Migration of APIs and specifications also includes moving to the most recent open specification levels.

IBM WebSphere Application Server supports a wide variety of technologies to build enterprise applications. As technology advances, particularly in the area of Java components, new application server product versions advance to support and extend the most recent open specification levels.