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Platforms and tools for Web Services and Mobile Applications

FUTURE

Bent Thomsen

Aalborg University

3rd and 4th of June 2004

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Services on Demand Vision

Revolutionary new business methods

Unlimited choice

Individual is King

+ interactivity

Cheap, Faster, Global Networking via

Internet

Cheap, Faster Processing

Converged Networks / Broadcast

Interactive Digital Content

Array of Access Devices

=

But how to build this vision?

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The Answer is: Web Services

• A Web service is like a Web site without a user interface, that serves programs instead of people.

• Instead of getting requests from browsers and returning web pages in response, a web service:– receives a request formatted in XML from an application, – performs a task, – and returns an XML-formatted response.

• Web Services are delivered using open industry standards– Services to be described in WSDL– Services to located via UDDI– Data to be exchanged via XML– Protocols are HTTP and SOAP

• BUT Back-end systems still need to be developed!

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The basic problem ...• If you have software components ...

• ... and they shall work together in the same transaction• ... and they shall have the same security boundaries• ... and they shall share the same session state• ... and they shall be remotely accessible• ... and they shall not suffer from code overload

• Then you must have ...• ... an infrastructure that hosts such components for

secure remote and local access• ... an infrastructure that manages transactions• ... an infrastructure that hides infrastructure code

• The answer is: • Applications on Application Servers• Implemented in an Enterprise Solution Framework

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Sun One Architecture

Support major standards initiatives such as XML, SOAP,

UDDI, WDSL and … to make it ready for developers who

want to take advantage of the Services on Demand vision

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Microsoft’s .NET

Support major standards initiatives such as XML, SOAP,

UDDI, WDSL and … to make it ready for developers who

want to take advantage of the Services on Demand vision

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What is Microsoft .Net?

• It is a vision– The platform for the digital future– ‘.NET is Microsoft’s platform for a new computing model

built around XML Web Services’Microsoft Corporation Annual Report, 2001

• It is a brand name– Applied to many things

• It is a set of products and technologies– Infrastructure– Tools– Servers– Services

• .Net is Microsoft’s core business Strategy

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.NET Technologies

• The .NET Framework– The CLR with support for XML Web services and more

– Supporting Visual Basic.NET, C#, C++, and more

• The .Net development tools– Visual Studio.Net

• The .NET Enterprise Servers– BizTalk Server 2003, SQL Server 2003, Commerce Server 2003 and

more

• The .Net Services– Passport, My Services, bCentral, expedia and more

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What is Java?

• The Java programming language– Took the world by storm in 1995 when introduced with the

HotJava web Browser

– Quickly integrated with Netscape browser

– Now in Version 1.4

– Coming soon Version 1.5

• The Java Virtual Machine (JVM)– Now comes in many different flavours

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J2EE – Enterprise Java

• J2EE: Java 2 Enterprise Edition– Superset of Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE)

– Adds enterprise features to Java Libraries

• Defined through the Java Community Process (JCP)– plus whatever Sun sees fit, Sun has last word

– Sun writes almost all specs and other contribute

– Submitters essentially surrender all rights to Sun

• Wholly owned property of Sun Microsystems– Licensing controlled by Sun, by Sun's rules

– JCP Broadens Sun's architect's base

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Enterprise Java

• J2EE (1.4+) is an infrastructure specification for:– Components ("Beans")– Data Source Connectivity– XML and Messaging– Web Pages and Web Services

• Implemented by: Sun, IBM, BEA, Oracle, etc.– IBM WebSphere (37% market share 2002/33% 2000)– BEA WebLogic (29% MS 2002/59% 2000)– SUN iPlanet (4% MS 2002/3% 2000)– Oracle Application Server 9i– Fujitsu Interstage– …

• All vendors implement core specification, but:– Some areas in J2EE are (intentionally) not specified– The more specific a functionality the more proprietary the implementation gets

Numbers from the web, allegedly originally from Gartner DataQuest

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A typical .NET Enterprise Solution

SQLServer

IIS on W2k Server

.NET managed

componentASP.NET

WindowsClient

Browser

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A typical J2EE Enterprise Solution

DB Server

Java App Server

EJBServlet

JSP

Java Client

Browser

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J2EE Solutions vs Microsoft .Net Solutions

– Both multi-tiered, similar computing technologies– Both support “standards”– Both offer different tools & ways to achieve the same

goal. – A lot of parallelism can be seen.– Very difficult to compare and qualify the comparison

because each has its own advantages & disadvantages.

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The TMC Petshop Performance Case Study

• Java Pet Store is Sun’s primary blueprint application for J2EE• The .NET Petshop is a port of the J2EE Java Pet Store to .NET• In the TMC Petshop Performance Case Study, The Middleware

Company implemented both the Java Pet Store and the .Net Petshop

• First version showed .Net 28 times faster than J2EE• Second version showed some J2EE implementation equal .Net• Second version is a testimony to performance tuning

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What do these comparisons tell us?

• It is very difficult to make such comparisons• That .Net has gained maturity extremely fast• That the two frameworks are very similar• You will not be sacked for choosing the right J2EE

application server ;-)• The Devil is in the detail

– C# is not Java

– ADO.NET is not JDBC

– CLR is not JVM

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J2EE 1.5

• J2EE (1.5) preview of 26.4.2004– Focus on ease of development

• Generics and metadata as in J2SE 1.5 (more like C#)

• Java Studio Creator tool (in beta from April 2004) (more like Visual Studio .Net)

– Timeframe

• To be discussed at JavaOne in June

• Finalized in approximately one year

– IBM push for truly open source Java

– Others hesitate (even Open Source JBoss)

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What about mobile?

• Web Services are fine as n-tier applications with UI provided through browser, but …

• On mobile devices WAP hasn’t really caught on• Even iMode hasn’t caught on in Europe • xHTML is looking promising though• Renewed Thin/Thick client discussion• Java applications on Mobile devices are reasonably

successful• Now Microsoft is moving fast into the field with .Net

Compact Framework

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Two Devices

Nokia 6600 Orange SPV E200

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Two Devices

Motorola V525 Motorola MPx200

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Two Devices

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Building Mobile Solutions is harder

• Mobile device– Software infrastructure, hardware requirements

• Communication technology– On-/Offline scenario– Wireless Wide Area Networks/ Wireless Local Area Networks– Communication protocol

• Application architecture scenario– Thin/fat client

• Data management– Synchronisation– On-/offline capabilities

• Security issues– Dangers for mobile devices– Threats of communication technology– Danger of exposing enterprise data

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Therefore ...

• Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) is not ONE Java edition

• An J2ME compliant application consists of– Configuration

– Profile (e.g. Personal, Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP))

– Application code

– Vendor specific UI

• 3 Contenders to compare– Java 2 Micro Edition – Connected Device Configuration (CDC)

– Java 2 Micro Edition – Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC)

– Microsoft .NET Compact Framework

The Java vs. Net discussion goes mobile

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Student Project

• Group of Master Level Students (Hovedfag)– Bjørn D. Rasmussen

– Casper S. Jensen

– Jimmy Nielsen

– Lasse Jensen

• Collaboration with DEIF

• Project Goals– Build end-to-end mobile client, wireless, webservices based

application with back-end interface to SCADA

– In Java (J2ME/J2EE) and in .Net

– Compare the two solutions on a set of criteria

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Basis of comparison

Objective measurements

• Lines of code

• Development tools

• Documentation

• Infrastructure

• Performance

• Architectural pattern

• Security

• Price

• Development time

Subjective measurements

• Developer satisfaction

• End-user satisfaction

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DEIF M-Vision (SCADA up and running in 30 minutes)

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SCADA on SmartPhones

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Development tools and Documentation

• Server-side is well supported by both Java and .NET IDEs

• On the client-side .NET IDEs benefit from the fact that .NET CF is so close to .NET (With Java there are separate IDEs for desktop and mobile application development)

• Compatibility problems between Java vendors

• Java IDEs are slow!

• C# is a richer/more complex language than Java

• Both Java and .NET have well documented API

• Web service documentation– .NET - MSDN

– Java – Google

• Support for encryption of web services– .Net CF: HTTPS and SOAP extensions

– J2ME: HTTPS, but only in CDC & MIDP 2.0

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Performance

• Server-side web service performance study with:– Microsoft Application Server (v. 5.1)

– Sun ONE Application Server (v. 7.0)

• Tested for:– Throughput

– Failure rate

– Average response time

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Performance - Throughput

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Performance – Average response time

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Performance – Failure rate

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Development time

• Slow start-up when developing in Java– Jungle of web service implementations

– IDE incompatibility problems

• Emulators

• kSOAP

• Trouble-free implementation in .NET

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Subjective Measures

• Developer satisfaction– VS.NET integrates web service and mobile application

development far better than any Java IDE

– A subset of an API is a better solution for mobile devices instead of an entirely new API

• End-user satisfaction– DEIF would choose a .NET based solution since startup time

is very important

– DEIF only needs a limited number of IDE licenses

– Extra price for a SmartPhone 2003 is insignificant compared to the value it gives

– The SmartPhone 2003 is more ”fancy” than the Java phones

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Students Conclusions

• We see .NET as a better designed framework because:– it eliminates the language barrier while also being platform

independent– it makes only little distinction between desktop and mobile

application development• Sun’s application server performance is very poor compared to

IIS.• License fees for a Java based solution are cheaper but .NET

might catch up when considering development time

• We tried a combined .NET and Java solution but this has shown to be very troublesome!

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My conclusions

• The two worlds are becoming more and more similar– But it seems that you have to work harder in Java than in .Net

– .Net is currently driving technology transfer from Research to Product

• Windows generation at University now

• Watch-out in the mobile world• Vodafone to offer Microsoft Smart phones

– http://msmobiles.com/news.php/2504.html

– Fed-up with Nokia promoting own brand, rather than operator brand

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To .Net or not to .NetChoosing between Java and .Net

• The ultimate choice usually depends not on technical superiority, but on:– cultural/”religious”/political preferences

– Customer preference

– Vendor relations

– Skill set of your developers

• You are most likely to be developing in both environments for the foreseeable future

• Look out for “The third way”– Linux, Apache, MySQL, PhP, …

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Beyond the short term

• Will somebody come up with a killer application?• J2EE/J2ME or .Net/.Net CF are reasonably coherent,

but maybe we will see a completely new platform • Network operators seem reluctant to move to 3G• And what about 4G?

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An example: Ericsson roadmap to 4G

Ericsson defines 4G very broadly as seamless mobility for the user + all possible new infrastructure technologies

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The Internet

IP backbone

BillingVHE

Signalling Gateway

WAP Accounting

UMTS

Broadcast Networks (DAB, DVB-T)

Satellite FES

GSM / GPRS

Context-aware informationCentre

IP-based micro-mobility Wireless

LANs

ISPSIP Proxy Server

Inter-WorkingInter-Working

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We talk about 4G today because the future is open

•The term 3G was coined at academic conferences around 1990. Then 3G meant everything beyond GSM

•One (dropped) 3G vision was mobility by wireless, + personal phone-numbers, following the individual globally at closest fixed line

•Later the ”1G”, ”2G”, ”3G” terminology was captured by equipment vendors in the mid 90s for selling UMTS to the market and regulators

Anybody remember the hype around 4G and 5G programming languages in the 80s ?

Will anybody talk about ”4G ” in 2010? I’m sceptical

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Issue: How and When should firms make the shiftfrom the E-Business “S curve” to Mobile?

Next Innovation “S – Curve” - MobileCascading S-Curves

80’s 90’s 00

MainframeMinicomputer

(30 years)

WebE-commerceE-business(7+ years)

Time

% Adoption

PCClient-Server

(15 years)

GROWTH

MATURITY

INNOVATION

Mobile Solutions

Web Services(?)

05

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Business Value, ROI and Application

Deployment Issues! Not Technology

Selling mobile technology hype

Selling unrealistic solutions e.g., m-commerce portals

Enterprise Customer

Focus

Mobile Vendor Focus

Vendors are ignoring customers demands: show me how to make or save money using mobile?

The Tale of Two Perspectives

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Future Dreams anno 1993