The J2EE Platform and SAP NetWeaver 

 

Overview

 

By leveraging the benefits of Sun’s J2EE platform, the BI Java SDK provides an object-oriented framework for building multi-tier, Web-centered analytical applications that are:

 

●      Portable

●      Highly scalable

●      Secure

●      Reusable and component-based

 

SAP’s NetWeaver combines Java technologies with proven SAP programming models and technologies. With the Web Application Server, SAP offers a runtime environment for Web applications that can be written both in ABAP and in Java. A fully J2EE-compliant server has been integrated with the traditional SAP Web Application Server, providing fast connectivity between applications written in Java and ABAP. The SAP Web Application Server thus provides two options that allow you to write purely Java-based applications:

 

●      The straightforward J2EE programming model

●      The ABAP/Java combination. This combines existing functionality written in ABAP with new components developed in Java

●       

The BI Java Connectors, used by the SDK to connect to diverse data sources, are optimized for full compliance and deployment to SAP NetWeaver’s Web Application Server: This provides additional enhancements to the following aspects of J2EE-standard compliance: 

 

●      Stability

●      Serviceability

●      Performance and Scalability

●      Improved Administration

●      Replacement of the internal database by open JDBC.

 

J2EE Connector Architecture

 

Sun’s J2EE Connector Architecture (JCA) defines a standard architecture for connecting the Java 2 Platform to heterogeneous Enterprise Information Systems (EISs) such as mainframe transaction processing and database systems. The connector architecture satisfies the SDK’s needs for a pluggable driver-based architecture, required for achieving the openness necessary to integrate with a variety of data sources.

 

SAP NetWeaver’s J2EE engine is JCA compliant. SAP provides a Java Connector (JCo) that allows Java applications to communicate with any SAP system. The Portal Runtime offers additional services on top of JCA for persisting connection information in a SystemLandscape, and a ConnectorGateway service that integrates with the portal user management.

 

The SDK leverages JCA to provide consistent connection management to heterogeneous data sources and to make it possible to plug connectors into multiple J2EE engines.

 

JCA compliance provides the following advantages for the SDK:

 

●      Support for connectivity to heterogeneous data sources:

The SDK provides connectivity via data source-specific connectors that conform to the JCA patterns. This is a modular and pluggable architecture, where new adapters can be added easily. The BI Java Connectors provide a BI-specific tailored connection that serves as the entry point to any services.

The BI Java Connectors are streamlines, meaning that connectors deal only with the specific domain of the resource they want to connect to. For example, the BI JDBC Connector only has to map metadata into the CWM Relational-based JMI service. All types of metadata (queries, OLAP, and relational) are represented via JMI-compliant interfaces and implementations that are generated by the Metadata Repository’s JMI mapping service.

●      Leveraging of SAP’s Enterprise Portal services:

The BI Java Connectors integrate with the Enterprise Portal runtime by extending the Generic Connector interfaces. The Java components can therefore leverage services provided by the Portal, such as SystemLandscape and ConnectorGateway.