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The Java Advantage for Web Services
Learn what to look out for as you move from Java to Web services
by Adam Kolawa

May 11, 2005

The creation and popularity of Web services are growing rapidly in every industry. With this continued growth, more programmers find themselves writing code that, even if it is not currently packaged as a Web service, will eventually be exposed as one. As more enterprises move toward an e-business strategy, communication and integration of existing information systems are key.

When integrating existing information systems with Web services, enterprises will usually face one of two scenarios. In the first scenario the enterprise information system is comprised of legacy systems, and to offer services and share data with business partners, customers, and other information systems, businesses must update these legacy systems with current technology and expose them as Web services. The second scenario is the enterprise information system may have middleware already in place, but this middleware needs to be exposed as Web services.

Regardless of which of these scenarios a business may face, developers have the option of two distinct approaches to exposing information systems as Web services: Sun Microsystems' J2EE and Microsoft's .Net platforms. Although both architectures offer a great deal of technology and standards, the strengths of Java, at least on the surface, seem to outweigh those of .Net.