The Virtues and Limits of WebLogic Workshop
FTPOnline: Have you been using BEA's new WebLogic 7.0?
Lillie: We are doing some internal work with 7.0. We're working with the e-commerce client I mentioned on 6.1.
We've been in the 7.0 beta program. Typically, we will evaluate [each new WebLogic beta]. We've been doing WebLogic integration longer than any other company—since '96 or '97, when BEA had only 20 employees.
FTPOnline: What do you think of WebLogic Workshop?
Lillie: I think it's an interesting tool. It's essentially an IDE for creating Web service apps. It has the promise of reducing development time, in that it allows you to create an app framework without dealing with the APIs you would otherwise grapple with. It uses a familiar graphical paradigm. Microsoft also has some interesting tools to support Web services activity.
A lot is compelling about what [WebLogic Workshop] offers. The hope is that you can go into it and build an app without much programming. In reality, you can create a framework, then do the programming to support the functionality you're trying to create.
FTPOnline: Can you use WebLogic Workshop to create Web services you don't use with WebLogic Server?
Lillie: It does create Java files, so there is some potential to move these into a different environment, but you're not going to have the development tool to modify what you've done. Also, if you develop in the WebLogic environment, you must engage in a porting activity to put it someplace else. WebLogic Workshop adds value to the app server. It's a smart move on BEA's part. Anybody using this tool is going to end up using BEA's app server.
FTPOnline: WebLogic Workshop also makes some assumptions about what kind of Web services app you're going to write, with loose coupling and other characteristics, right?
Lillie: Its support for both synchronous and asynchronous messaging does make assumptions about the shape of your apps, but that's a good thing. If you're trying to build a relatively straightforward app, it's such a win to use a visual tool like this rather than try to piece your way through the many Java APIs you might get in a release from Sun. For example, look at the summer release [of Sun's] XML pack. You get the latest APIs, but nothing helps you thread them together to assemble an application.
After a certain point, it's back to JBuilder. You can do the source editing within [WebLogic's] tool. It's OK for apps that aren't too adventurous, I think.
Back to top
|