Enterprise Java moves back into the spotlight this fall

Paul Krill

Java EE (Enterprise Edition), which is geared to running large-scale network applications, has taken a backseat lately to Java SE (Standard Edition) as far as the buzz each has been creating. While Java SE 8 was released last year to much fanfare, the last major release of Java EE, version 7, was introduced more than two years ago. But Java EE will take center stage at the upcoming JavaOne conference.

Although the San Francisco conference does not begin until October 25, Oracle already has published session descriptions for the event, which reveal topics including Java EE, Docker, and the Internet of things.

In a session entitled "Java EE 8 Work in Progress," Oracle technical staff member Linda Demichiel will present an overview of Oracle's plans for Java EE 8. Among these plans are enhanced support for HTML5 applications and Web tier features, including server-sent events; JSON enhancements; support for HTTP/2 in Servlet 4.0; and updates to the WebSocket API. Java EE 8 also will get improvements to CDI (Contexts and Dependency Injection) alignment, enhancements to security APIs, and continued support for portable cloud applications. The presentation will cover how the platform leverages Java SE 8 as well.

Another session will discuss the opportunities Java EE 8 faces. "With the advent of Java 8 features such as lambdas and method references, logic is mobile and Java EE has the opportunity to reinvent itself, this time from the declarative to the programmatic." Attendees can hear about secure Java EE architecture and programming in another presentation, honing in on writing secure code and constructing secure systems. Additionally, JavaOne features a session led by Red Hat's Arun Gupta, director of technical marketing and developer advocacy, on refactoring Java EE applications with microservices and containers.

Docker, the popular software container technology, is featured in a discussion on running a Java app in five Docker clouds in 50 minutes. The session will show how a distributed Java-based application can work with the five most important Docker hosting providers. There is also a session on building Jersey RESTful services or WebSocket applications with Docker.

Also getting an airing at JavaOne are languages besides Java, including Scala, Kotlin, and DukeScript, which purports to put Java into JavaScript and is used for building cross-platform mobile, desktop, and Web applications. Attendees can find out how to scale to 1 million concurrent users on the JVM in a presentation by Livefvr, which built a platform powering real-time comments and social media for major Web sites.

Finally, the Internet of things will get a nod at JavaOne. Project Kona, providing Java networking technologies for the IoT will be covered, as will end-to-end IoT solutions leveraging Java and Eclipse technology.