Once upon a time, the World Wide Web was all about the pages, back when HTML and good page design were the primary concerns. Then it became all about the applications, as Web developers moved to robust Web development languages and the powerful application servers that drove them.
Nowadays, its all about the services. So its no surprise that AquaLogic Service Bus 2.0 and WebLogic Server 9.0, the two most recent releases of the core products in BEA Systems Inc.s Web application platform, are tightly focused on Web services and building and managing an SOA (service-oriented architecture).
Released in August, WebLogic Server 9.0 has many of the standard upgrade features one would expect from an application server, such as improved scalability and reliability and expanded standards support. But it also includes several changes that make it a friendlier base platform for Web services.
WebLogic Server becomes even more service-friendly when BEAs AquaLogic Service Bus 2.0, also released in August, is running on it. The AquaLogic product, more than simply being an ESB (enterprise service bus), is focused on the entire task of creating, managing and analyzing an SOA.
Like all BEA products, WebLogic Server and AquaLogic Service Bus have good platform and database support and should integrate well in a variety of environments, although neither supports Apple Computer Inc.s Mac OS X.
Click here to read the full review of AquaLogic Service Bus 2.0.
Click here to read the full review of Weblogic Server 9.0.