With SAP NetWeaver Composition Environment available to you, it is about time you get used to the key message: SAP is Open. This is how Yes, We Are Open! starts, where I finally ask you to explore the Java EE 5 and J2EE 1.4 frameworks of SAP NetWeaver Composition Environment (CE) 7.1.
I carry on and highlight more “vendor lock free” capabilities of CE.
By the way, do you consider attending this year’s TechEd? Take a look at an exhaustive list of sessions labeled “SAP is Open”. For those of you available in Munich: In Munich you get an opportunity to evaluate the Web Services and WTP toolset ahead of its general availability – we count on your feedback!
This brings me back to our main topic: Here is again a collection of several well-known brands which you will associate with CE from now on:
Yes, CE is more than this, but we leave that aside for now, as my teammate Benny can tell you how to slim down CE and operate it as “The Smallest Possible NetWeaver Java Server”.
This works fine with the current trial CE software that you find it in the download section of SDN – no matter whether you go for the “Java EE only” or the “full” CE variant ...
Integrated offering for Java SE and Java EE
Did you know that SAP is a Java SE licensee? CE supports J2SE 5.0 APIs seamlessly due to a J2SE 5.0 certified SAP Java Virtual Machine (SAP JVM) on board. Gain insight:
SAP JVM is based on the source code of Sun Microsystem’s Java HotSpot Virtual Machine, but adds some highly valuable supportability and monitoring options. For example, on CE you can debug Java code “on the fly”, without restarting the server. You can view The SAP Java VM - What's in it for me? to learn more.
Another superb newcomer is the How to measure the fatness of a component in a Java heap dump that we demonstrated at this year’s JavaOne conference. Needless to say, SAP Memory Analyzer handles heap dumps produced by SAP JVM splendidly. But just as well, SAP Memory Analyzer is open - it accepts HPROF binary heap dumps, a de-facto standard defined by Sun.
An important aspect is that SAP JVM is built and supported by SAP without dependency on other vendors. It is a clear benefit for you to get the complete support for the Java EE and Java SE environments from SAP.
Eclipse and WTP - tightly integrated with CE server
What is your favorite development tool?
No doubt, millions of Java developers would answer “Eclipse”, the open-source platform for Java development environments. One of Eclipse projects, the Eclipse Web Tools Platform (WTP) Project, enriches Eclipse with open-source tools for Web and Java EE development.
“There is no need to reinvent the wheel – let us cooperate” is the motto of SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio (NWDS) in CE. NWDS is Eclipse-based and uses WTP tooling as its J2EE/Java EE toolset – thus the de-facto standard tools for Java SE and Java EE development are awaiting you, perfectly tailored to serve your CE environment.
NWDS in CE is open by design: you can enhance it with your favorite open-source or 3rd-party Eclipse plug-ins. And if you’re unsure which plug-ins to choose to enhance your NWDS, SAP works on certifications for such plug-ins to become available in 2008.
Unique in NWDS is the comfortable connectivity to CE server(s). We provide WTP preconfigured for access to the SAP server, and have added exhaustive means to deploy and monitor the target CE server from NWDS.
Another reason why we like WTP is that SAP is an official contributor to it. We already contributed more than 50 bug fixes and more than 30 enhancements … Meet our WTP guys at this year’s TechEd in Munich (The specified item was not found.) and test the WTP 2.0 and Web Services toolset with CE. Join us and give your feedback to make it even better.
Yes, we like Open Source
- SAP committed to backing the Eclipse platform
- SAP contributed SAP DB to become MaxDB
- SAP helped establish Linux in large enterprises
And, of course, we would like you to run your favorite open source framework on top of SAP NetWeaver Application Server that comes with CE: Read Using Hibernate in SAP NetWeaver Composition Environment to start quickly and post your feedback, for example in the Java Development.
Integration inside: SDO/SCA assembly
Would you like to integrate a BPEL process within a Java EE application?
This is what SAP demonstrated at JavaOne in 2007: A Web shop with a BPEL-implemented order process!
SCA did the trick. To be short: SCA is an integration language over Java EE (a bridge to Spring, BPEL, PHP, C++, …). Service Component Architecture Meets Java EE: A Work in Progress (Part 1 of 2) on finalizing the promising SCA approach.
The complementary SOA technology is Service Data Objects (SDO). Amazingly: CE supports it already and you can explore it right now.
Web services and composition
Remember, the “C” in the CE abbreviation means “Composition”. WSDL, UDDI, Enterprise Services Repository and Registry, CCTS are the keywords here. CE is a core player, especially, it supports Web Services of Java EE 5 and beyond. The Web Services-Based Connectivity is a good start to explore the whole story.
Summarizing …
Yes, we are open – come in!
