Home > Articles > Programming > Java

Understanding J2EE and .NET

In this handy reference on the basics of J2EE and Microsoft's .NET initiative, Dan Fox points out the differences and similarities between these technologies in terms of strategy, complexity, feature sets, and product maturity.
Like this article? We recommend

With the pending release of the .NET Framework and Visual Studio.NET (now in beta 2), both Microsoft and its competitors providing products built on the Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) specification are ramping up their respective PR machines. As information technology professionals, it is important to understand at least at a high level how these two technologies and products compare. In this article, I'm primarily going to describe where the points of similarity are so that those working in either technology will be able to construct a mental map to get from one to the other and begin to become conversant in the technologies. At the same time, I'll point out some of the differences in terms of strategy, complexity, feature set, and product maturity.

From the J2EE perspective, I'll concentrate primarily on IBM WebSphere 4.0 because WebSphere appears to be gaining mind share (IBM recently topped BEA, 47% to 22%, as the preferred Web software in a survey of 150 CIOs done by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter earlier this year) with the release of its new version 4.0 product. However, other vendors such as BEA, with version 6.1 of its WebLogic Server; Sybase, with version 3.6.1 of EAServer; and Oracle, with version 9i of its Application Server, also provide J2EE-certified application servers.

NOTE

A developer version of the WebSphere 4.0 product can be downloaded for free from the IBM site.

J2EE Defined

As mentioned previously, J2EE is not a product, but a specification produced by Sun that defines a standard (APIs and specifications) for developing and deploying enterprise applications. It is based on the Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE), which defines the lower-level components of the platform, such as the Java Virtual Machine and Java SDK. Currently, J2EE 1.2 is the released specification and version 1.3 is in beta. Sun provides the specifications as well as reference implementations, documentation, tools, and samples on various platforms. Vendors such as IBM, BEA, Sybase, and Oracle then license J2EE and implement products based on the specifications.

Many different vendors have licensed J2EE. Those that have passed the Compatibility Test Suite (CTS) are listed at http://java.sun.com/j2ee/compatibility.html. WebSphere (WAS) 4.0 is J2EE 1.2–certified. WAS 3.5 is not certified, although IBM claims that it is compliant. If an application is built on a certified product, it can be ported more easily to competing products.

The idea behind the vendors implementing the same standard is, of course, WORA ("write once, run anywhere"). This concept is what initially pushed Java to the forefront in the IT world, and it is certainly attractive because it promises reusability across platforms. You can think of J2EE as simply extending this idea to the server. It should be noted that IBM's support for Java and J2EE was instrumental in ensuring that Java remained important in the IT landscape after it failed to take hold as a browser- or forms-based client-side development tool.

Obviously, Microsoft calls the WORA strategy into question and notes that porting J2EE applications between products such as BEA's WebLogic and WebSphere can be daunting, given IBM's 274-page paper describing the process. In addition, each vendor provides supplementary interfaces and APIs that are vendor-specific, to differentiate themselves and provide increased integration with their products. For example, WAS 4.0 Enterprise Edition will contain IBM extensions to J2EE. As an example, Microsoft recently made much of the May 14, 2001, assessment of application portability on J2EE by Will Zachman, an analyst for the Meta Group:

One major limitation to the Java camp is lack of portability among products from different vendors. ... Java users should realize that they will never achieve complete compatibility between any two of the several J2EE application servers on the market. They should realize that when selecting J2EE systems, they are not choosing a standard but a product platform, and should plan to focus on either WebLogic or WebSphere as a corporate standard.

Of course, the J2EE camp retorts that any degree of platform independence is more than you'll get with .NET, which will be limited to Windows (although talk of an open source implementation of the CLR has recently gotten attention). In any case, at a high level you can think of the J2EE strategy as single-language (Java) and multiple-vendor, while the .NET strategy is multiple-language through the Common Language Runtime (CLR) and single-vendor.

InformIT Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from InformIT and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites, develop new products and services, conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@informit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020