• Deployment RSS Feed

    Deployment

    Ant-based Deployment
    XDEV 3 provides you with a fully automated deployment based on Apache Ant, which can easily be used to create new builds without having to write extra scripts for it. With XDEV 3 you don't have to decide how you will be operating your application until you are completing the project. Using the XDEV 3 Deployment Assistant - and one and the same code base - you can choose to complete your project as an
    • Java application
    • Rich Internet application (Java applet)
    • Java Web Start application
    You will not have to make a single adjustment.

    Java applications
    A Java application is a traditional desktop application which is installed on a target machine. The database can either be stored together with the application on the target machine (fat client) or on the server (client-server application). Applications generated by XDEV 3 automatically run under Windows, Linux, UNIX and Mac. For Windows, an executable EXE file will also be generated. Java applications also always need Java Runtime Environment (JRE), which you can link to your application when it is deployed. If you are certain that JRE is already on the target system, you can also deliver your Java application without the JRE.

    Rich Internet Applications
    Java applets are Java programs that are accessed via the Internet and run directly in a web browser, namely web-applications. The advantage of applets over Ajax applications is that applets are not executed by the web browser but rather by the Java Runtime Environment (JRE), making them browser-independent. Another advantage over Ajax applications is that browser updates will never have a negative effect on the ability of Java applets to run.

    Applet security
    Compared to Ajax applications (JavaScript), applets are very secure web applications. This is because applets run in a sandbox, meaning that - as a rule - applets have no access rights to the client’s local system and can’t cause any damage there. Even the access rights to the server are very limited. An applet can only directly access one folder on the server, namely the folder in which the applet files are located (applet root). Applets themselves can therefore not access a database. A small additional Java program called a servlet located on the server executes all of the database queries for the applet and manages communication between the applet and the database. The data being transferred is hereby automatically encrypted using the Diffie-Hellman method. To execute this servlet, your server has to have an installed application server, such as Jetty or Tomcat, which functions as a servlet container.

    Applet performance
    Applets are only slow when they are fully loaded. XDEV 3 however automatically splits the applets into many individual files so that only the start window is initially loaded when the application is called up. All other windows and dialogs are subsequently loaded "on demand". This means your web application will always be performant, irrespective of how many windows, masks or dialogs your application contains.

    Java Web Start
    Java Web Start applications are the least well-known form of Java program. Web Start programs are programs that are available to download via website. The first time the application is called up, Web Start installs it automatically on the target machine, like a desktop application, and then starts the program. Thereafter, the application can also be run by clicking on the desktop icon, which was installed along with the application. In contrast to traditional software, a Web Start application always connects to the server and automatically downloads any new files, saving the end user from having to perform update procedures. Performing a user-rights check can also be set up to occur when the software is called up, meaning the Java Web Start technology is very suitable for implementation of SaaS (software as a service).

    Pre-installed test environment
    XDEV 3 automatically installs a local test environment so that not only can you test your projects as an application but with one click you can also test your application as a Rich Internet Application (Java applet) in a web browser.