Simplified Web services

AS WEB SERVICES move from promise to reality, developers need tools that can help them decrease the technology ramp-up time and speed up deployment to keep costs in check. A new development framework from BEA Systems, WebLogic Workshop, promises to meet all of these goals for developers, regardless of their current language skill set.

WebLogic Workshop provides both integrated development tools and a built-in Java run-time environment. Programmers can use the WebLogic Workshop facilities to graphically model how a Web service will interact with clients and the rest of the enterprise.

Under the covers, WebLogic Workshop manages the Java plumbing needed to support the Web service. Thus, developers can focus on writing the business logic needed for various events in the service. The result is that less code needs to be written to complete the Web service, which should help speed developers along.

This approach makes it easier for programmers who may be familiar with other languages, such as Microsoft Visual Basic or Cobol, to quickly get up to speed on Web service creation and the Java language. The built-in controls and event-driven programming interface are marvelously easy to use and reminiscent of IDEs (integrated development environment) that support other languages, such as Visual Basic.

We tested a beta version of WebLogic Workshop on both a Solaris 8 system and a Windows 2000 machine. As you might expect, we found some issues typical of beta software, including some sluggishness in the IDE and sparse documentation. But even without going through the product’s tutorial, we were able to use the graphical and code views to construct, test, and deploy a simple Web service in fewer than 10 minutes.

BEA has introduced the construct of JWS (Java Web services) files within WebLogic Workshop. JWS files contain annotations to standard Java code that developers use to specify what features are needed in their Web service. The annotations are visible, but the underlying code remains hidden so developers can focus on business logic.

For developers new to Java, this will reduce the learning curve. Experienced Java programmers will find that the JWS construct speeds things along. BEA has introduced JWS into the Java Community Process ( www.jcp.org ) and expects that other vendors will adopt JWS to simplify development.

The WebLogic Workshop facilities support creating Web services that use either synchronous or asynchronous conversations. We initially created a service that was synchronous and were able to change it on the fly to an asynchronous conversation that used a callback.

Using the design view, developers can quickly add methods and callbacks; clicking on the method or callback brings up a dialog in which developers can edit XML maps and interfaces. As we worked with the graphical tools, jumping to code view allowed us to examine our additions. In addition to two-way editing, the IDE also includes standard developer tools, such as code completion, that are on par with other IDEs.

Our beta version also included some built-in controls. For example, developers can add controls that allow them to access other Web services, databases, EJBs (Enterprise JavaBeans), and more. BEA officials indicate that they will include more controls over time and that they expect third parties to create controls as well.

We purposefully introduced errors in some of our Web services in order to test the built-in debugging tools. We were able to set breakpoints, watch specific variables, and step through our code without any trouble. The debugging tools are on par with Java IDEs from other leading vendors, such as Sun Microsystems and WebGain.

Among the most useful aspects of WebLogic Workshop is the automatically generated test harnesses that developers can use to test their Web services prior to deployment. The browser-based harness includes an overview of the service, a console, a test form to validate the service, and a facility to test the XML used in the service. Using test harnesses, we were able to walk through our services and see how they worked when deployed. Developers will find that WebLogic Workshop’s test harnesses speed things up significantly.

In this debut version of WebLogic Workshop, there is no built-in support for version control tools. However, any source control tool that can read Java or JSP (Java Server Pages) files can read the JWS files used by WebLogic Workshop. For developers, this means an added step of accessing a version control tool prior to working with projects in WebLogic Workshop. Including a built-in source control facility or enabling integration with existing version control tools, such as CVS (Concurrent Versions System), would be an improvement.

Projects developed with WebLogic Workshop can currently only be deployed to a WebLogic Server. This is fine for shops already using WebLogic Server, but it is a hindrance for enterprises using other application servers. BEA officials expect that third-party tools providers who already support deployment to other application servers will adopt the JWS file construct shortly. This will allow Web services built using JWS files to be deployed on other application servers.

For now though, BEA’s WebLogic Workshop beta is a useful tool to speed along the development of Web services. By managing the underlying code needed to support Web services, WebLogic Workshop promises to increase productivity and reduce development costs.

Developers who want to test drive WebLogic Workshop can do so at https://commerce.bea.com/downloads/weblogic_workshop.jsp . And whether programmers are new to Java or are old hands with the language, WebLogic Workshop will speed their creation, testing, and deployment of Web services.