Compuware makes J2EE easy for beginners

Compuware has extended its use of the patterns that capture the knowledge of Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) experts in order to remove its complexities for less experienced developers.

OptimalJ 2.1, released today, introduces domain patterns and a pattern editor to allow developers to make modifications within the business model for an application.

Patterns are pieces of reusable business logic producing technically optimised code that fully utilises an operating environment's capabilities - in this case, J2EE.

"There is a business problem in the Java marketplace," said Edwin Schumacher, director of product management for OptimalJ. "Although there is increasing interest in the J2EE platform, it is a very complex set of technologies and lots of people are overwhelmed [by it]."

Enterprises had found that expert J2EE developers were hard to come by, commanded high salaries and were likely to leave quickly taking their expertise with them, he added.

OptimalJ begins with business models created to Universal Modelling Language (UML) standards, from which J2EE-compliant Java code is generated. "OptimalJ produces optimised code because it contains the knowledge of [Compuware's] J2EE specialists, which means less experienced developers can use the software," said Schumacher.

Version 2.1 adds domain patterns which are elevated into the model itself. From there they can be cut and pasted into new models. So a library of models can be created. Schumacher said OptimalJ supported externally produced patterns such as the Gang Of Four (GOF) and Sun J2EE patterns.

A pattern editor has also been added to allow experienced architects who believe they can still improve on the generated code to make amendments in a controlled way. A graphical editor allows smoother movement between the tiers of domain, code and presentation development.

Bola Rotibi, lead analyst at Ovum, was positive about patterns as the way forward. "It's about time. Patterns get across the commonality found in industry. If people want to develop quickly the only way to do this is through patterns and frameworks," she said.

But Rotibi cautioned that the tool was not for beginners and that OptimalJ had some proprietary elements in addition to UML, so that new team members still had a learning curve. "But in hiding the complexity of J2EE it is pretty impressive," she said.