Leveraging J2EE Standards for Porting and
Adopting Applications
A key feature of the SAP NetWeaver platform is the support it provides for the Java™ 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) standard. It includes the Application Server Java (AS Java), a fully-featured, J2EE 1.3-compliant application server, and the SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio, an Eclipse-based development environment with a comprehensive set of J2EE development tools and wizards. This positions the SAP NetWeaver as a platform suitable for porting existing J2EE standards-based business applications, thus consolidating the enterprise’s applications landscape and reducing the total cost of ownership. Incorporating the long experience in the business applications’ world of SAP, it also provides several extensions (such as a portable persistence layer, centralized user management concept, and so on) that application developers can use to extend their applications.
A clear differentiator of the SAP NetWeaver platform from the rest of the J2EE-compatible competitors is the Development Infrastructure (DI), with which the SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio can be integrated. This infrastructure provides additional functions such as change management, version control and automatic build services that support all phases of the software development life cycle. Unlike typical Java/J2EE development environments, the DI supports development in large-scale, distributed-team scenarios and yields best results in terms of reduced development time and costs, and process stability.
The following figure shows the architecture of the variant by revealing the relationships between the DI components that are used throughout the process steps variant:

This IT scenario variant aims at describing the methodology and tools for porting existing or developing new J2EE applications on the SAP NetWeaver platform.
J2EE application developers structure their applications into development components (DCs) and software components (SCs) according to the component model defined by DI. They develop the corresponding J2EE modules (servlets, JSP, EJBs, and so on) in the relevant projects in the J2EE perspective of the local SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio using the intuitive wizards provided there. Once the application’s source files have been developed and tested locally, they are deployed to the Design Time Repository (DTR) in the NWDI. Sources are built by the centrally-provided Component Build Service (CBS), and deployed (if the build is successful) on the central AS Java.
To use this scenario variant you require the following installable units:
System with activated usage types:
● Application Server Java (AS Java)
Provides the runtime environment for running your J2EE applications.
● Development Infrastructure (DI)
Provides the tools that you use for modeling, development, testing and life cycle management that you use throughout the whole development process.
● Enterprise Portal Core (EPC)
Provides the portal infrastructure to integrate your J2EE applications and present them to the users.
Process |
Description |
Introduces the tools and services that facilitate the smooth migration of your available J2EE applications to AS Java. |
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Outlines the strong set of tools available that provide support for executing an efficient modeling process. |
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Focuses on the comprehensive set of tools for J2EE application component development. |
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Elaborates on the configuration and adaptation options that bring flexibility to the J2EE applications development processes. |