J2EE is a set of programming interfaces that allow programmers to build server-side applications. Unlike J2SE, J2EE doesn’t contain operational implementations of the APIs it defines; this is left to third parties.
Few .NET technologies compare directly to the J2EE APIs, although in most cases other Microsoft products exist to fill the gaps. Table 2-2 lists the J2EE APIs and the equivalent technology provided by or accessible through .NET.
Table 2-2. Comparison of Java 2 Enterprise Edition and .NET
.NET | |
---|---|
Enterprise Java Beans (EJB) | The .NET Framework can provide a mechanism that is similar to the Session Bean model via interoperability with COM+, but it has no equivalent of the Message and Entity bean models; this is a surprising omission, given the broad and rapid adoption of EJBs. |
Microsoft has indicated that an equivalent of Entity beans will be included in a future release of the .NET Framework, but for the moment .NET doesn’t offer a complete alternative to the EJB model. | |
JavaMail | The System.Web.Mail namespace contains functionality for creating and sending e-mail from .NET applications. |
Java Connector Architecture (JCA) | .NET provides integration with legacy systems through Microsoft Host Integration Server. |
Java Message Service (JMS) | .NET provides messaging capabilities through Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ). |
Java Server Pages (JSP) | Microsoft ASP.NET provides functionality similar to that of JavaServer pages. |
Java Transaction API (JTA) | .NET provides transactional support for enterprise applications through Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS). |
Servlet API | Microsoft ASP.NET can be used to process HTTP requests, providing functionality comparable to that of Java Servlets. |