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Bridging Two Worlds
by Peter Varhol
October 13, 2004
About two years ago, I attended a conference in which one of the sessions featured representatives from Microsoft and IBM describing their respective visions for building reliable applications. "What if I want applications using Java and .Net to communicate with each other?" I asked, not so innocently. The two participants looked at each other, and you could hear them thinking, "Why would anyone want to do that? You either choose one or the other, right?"
Still, I persisted. And the answer that eventually came back was, "Why, with Web services, of course." While the answer was a correct one, neither participant really understood why I was asking the question. I suspect that they do now. Every single enterprise I talk to is facing the prospect of integrating application components or even entire applications developed and running on disparate platforms.
No one can deny that the platform wars are fully engaged. Both of the companies whose representatives I braced two years earlier promote their respective approaches to computing, giving little more than lip service to multiplatform connectivity and integration. And, granted, it's not in their best interest to do so. Fortunately, Web services make it not only possible to integrate applications running on different platforms, but also feasible from a business standpoint.
And the need to do these types of multiplatform integrations reflects the reality of enterprise computing today. Few make an explicit decision to run on J2EE or .Net exclusively. And even if they do, existing applications running across a variety of platforms make the transition a long one, taking perhaps a decade or more. When data from one system would be useful in a new mission-critical application, management is rightly unsympathetic to objections that they run on incompatible platforms.
You can architect such a solution in a couple of different ways. One of the applications can be encapsulated as a Web service, with the ability to listen for, accept, and return data transmitted as SOAP messages. This makes sense if the Web service can provide processing services for other applications as well. Alternatively, a separate Web service can be developed to sit between both applications, and handle the I/O and data formatting requirements for each. This approach has the advantage of not requiring changes to either application, even as they are modified and enhanced across their useful lives. Both of these approaches are supported by WebLogic Integration, making either a feasible alternative.
However the integration across platforms is implemented in practice, many enterprises have the need to start the process moving. WebLogic provides the features needed to take that first step. Planning which applications can interact to support new and existing business processes should provide the key to determining how that communication should occur. Building these bridges between Java and .Net platforms will take several steps, and Web services will make those bridges technically possible while providing IT with experience that will pay off for the business for many years.
About the Author
Peter is an industry expert and a regular Java Pro columnist. Contact him at .
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