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1.2. Enterprise Computing Demystified

Enterprise computing has a reputation for complexity and, for the uninitiated, it is often surrounded by a shroud of mystery. Here are some reasons enterprise computing can seem intimidating:

Java helps to alleviate these intimidating aspects of enterprise computing. First, since Java is platform-independent, the heterogenous nature of the network ceases to be an issue. Second, the Java Enterprise APIs form a single, standard layer on top of various proprietary or vendor-enhanced APIs. For example, the JDBC API provides a single, standard, consistent way to interact with a relational database server, regardless of the database vendor and regardless of the underlying network protocol the database server uses to communicate with clients. Finally, recall that many enterprise protocols and standards were developed before the days of object-oriented programming. The object-oriented power and elegance of the Java language allow the Java Enterprise APIs to be simpler, easier to use, and easier to understand than the non-Java APIs upon which they are layered.

The messages you should take away from this discussion are:

With that said, it is important to understand that distributed computing actually is somewhat more complicated than nondistributed computing. Just as using threads in a program introduces complexities that do not exist in single-threaded programs, using network services in a program introduces complexities that do not exist in programs that run entirely on one computer. While multithreaded programs have to deal with the issues of thread synchronization and deadlock, distributed applications have to deal with the possibilities of network failure and the complexities of distributed transaction processing. Do not fear, however: the complexities of distributed computing are not overwhelming, and, with a little study, any programmer can master them.



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