Oracles JDeveloper Gets Personal

Java devlopment platform upgrade adds new features that let developers personalize their development environment.

Oracle Corp. this week released an upgrade to its Oracle9i JDeveloper Java development platform with new support for modeling, Web services, open source integration and the latest Java standards.

In addition to these features, Oracle9i JDeveloper also contains new features that enable developers to personalize their development environment, said John Magee, vice president of Oracle9iAS.

Magee said that with JDeveloper 9.0.3, developers can write business logic in Java or PL/SQL and expose Java classes, database stored procedures and EJBs (Enterprise JavaBeans) as Web services. Other Web services support includes J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) 1.3 compatibility and a new TCP Packet Monitor for debugging Simple Object Access Protocol messages, Magee said.

The new version of JDeveloper, released Monday, also features UML (Unified Modeling Language) modeling support and support for developing EJBs. Magee said the UML capability enhances JDevelopers Web services support.

"Were getting a lot of good feedback on this," Magee said. "What differentiates us from the pure modeling folks like Rational [Software Corp.] is that our UML support is integrated right in with our J2EE support."

Magee said Oracle is participating in the UML standards process being run by Object Management Group Inc. "We think UML is a particularly good way to visually model the development environment … so you dont have to write so much code," he said.

The products open source support includes integration with open source tools, such as the Apache Ant and Jakarta Struts Web open source initiatives from the Apache Software Foundation, the JUnit testing tool from JUnit.org and hosted on the VA Software Corp. SourceForge open source repository site, and the Concurrent Versions System software configuration management tool from CVShome.org.

With the new MyDeveloper Extension Manager, developers can personalize their development environment and include plug-ins and the ability to download software from the Oracle Technology Network. JDeveloper itself is available for download from the network.

Meanwhile, Oracle, of Redwood Shores, Calif., recently announced the availability of Oracle9i Application Server TopLink, which developers can use to create Java applications with relational databases, Magee said.

Oracle also committed to continue to support the TopLink technology that it acquired from WebGain Inc. this summer. TopLink is available in Oracle9i Application Server or can be licensed separately and used with other J2EE application servers, as well as databases and Java development tools.

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