Jakarta Connectors
| Company type | Technology specification |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software, Enterprise application integration |
| Products | Java Connector Architecture (JCA) |
Jakarta Connectors (abbreviated as JCA; previously known as Java EE Connector Architecture and J2EE Connector Architecture) consist of Java-based technologies aimed at linking application servers with enterprise information systems (EIS) to facilitate enterprise application integration (EAI). Unlike JDBC, which primarily connects Java applications to databases, JCA provides a flexible framework for interfacing with legacy systems.
JCA and Java EE
The development of JCA has been governed by the Java Community Process, with key versions represented by JSR 16 (version 1.0), JSR 112 (version 1.5), and JSR 322 (version 1.6).
Compliance requirements specify that J2EE 1.3 supports JCA 1.0, J2EE 1.4 mandates JCA 1.5, and Java EE 6 requires adherence to JCA 1.6 within application servers.
Contracts
The Jakarta Connector Architecture defines a set of standards to enable seamless connectivity between compatible application servers and EIS through resource adapters, outlining essential system-level contracts:
- Connection management
- Facilitates connection pooling between the application server and EIS, enabling scalable applications capable of managing numerous client requests.
- Transaction management
- Permits application servers to coordinate distributed transactions across various resource managers or to handle transactions internally within the EIS without relying on external transaction managers.
- Security management
- Enhances protection of EIS assets by mitigating security vulnerabilities.
With the introduction of JCA 1.5, additional contracts were incorporated:
- Life cycle management
- Empowers application servers to control the lifecycle of resource adapters, including deployment processes, upgrades, and shutdown procedures.
- Work management
- Allows resource adapters to delegate work to the application server, which oversees thread execution effectively, improving runtime management.
- Transaction inflow management
- Enables imported transactions to be propagated into the application server environment while preserving ACID properties and supporting recovery from failures.
- Message inflow management
- Supports asynchronous delivery of messages to endpoints inside the application server across diverse messaging infrastructures such as JMS and JAXM, standardizing integration of message providers with Java EE servers.
EIS Integration
Adapters based on JCA facilitate integration with various Enterprise Information Systems including Siebel Systems, SAP AG, Great Plains Systems, and Oracle Applications. Siebel provides APIs compatible with platforms like Java, C++, .NET, and Visual Basic, with its Java interface known as 'Java Data Bean' (JDB) utilized for data access purposes. Great Plains Systems connects through its eConnect interface, whereas SAP offers the SAP Java Connector (SAP JCo) for Java-based integration.
External links
- J2EE Connector homepage – extensive information source
- IBM article discussing selection among JCA, JMS, and Web services
- JSR 112 (JCA version 1.5)
- JSR 322: Java EE Connector Architecture 1.6 (JCA version 1.6)
- JSR 16 (JCA version 1.0)
- http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2004/03/24/j2eeca.html