In some ways, the appearance of J2EE in the Java world is similar to the introduction of SQL to the database world. Prior to SQL, each vendor's search engine and approach was unique and hierarchical - in other words, a proprietary system that was inflexible and difficult to maintain. SQL and the relational model offered a standard, nonproprietary approach to storing and organizing data that supported the trend toward a client/server architecture. Similarly, Java and the Web have pushed the trend toward a distributed architecture with components running on an application server. J2EE provides the standards for this trend.

J2EE includes the J2EE BluePrints, an application programming model for distributed applications. Its guidelines for designing and optimizing components, partitioning logic into business and presentation logic, and standardizing mid-tier data access and management tasks are aimed at creating applications that function similarly. The J2EE platform is a standard environment for running J2EE applications that include deployment specifications, Internet engineering task force standards and a set of CORBA standards. J2EE adds a JavaBean component model and continues support for EJBs that break logic into reusable, extensible pieces. EJB components run within a container that provides mid-tier services such as security, transaction management, remote client connectivity, and so on. The J2EE server provides naming and directory services, authentication, HTTP, Java servlet technology and a library of standard Java APIs. To round out the picture, a Compatibility Test Suite can verify a Java application's conformity to the J2EE platform specifications, and a reference implementation provides the operational definition of the J2EE platform.

Sybase has always been a proponent of open, standards-based architecture, so our endorsement of J2EE should come as no surprise. It provides a standard methodology for developing components for distributed applications that can run on any application server. Its standardization encourages reuse and sharing of components among applications, a benefit during development and deployment of an application. As businesses continue to embrace e-business solutions and more applications move to the Web, the J2EE standards should make life easier for developers and improve the quality of Java applications.

Even with the J2EE standards in place, there's still one obstacle to overcome: true interoperability with the non-Java world. You can't exaggerate the significance of that obstacle. Consider that the non-Java world includes almost all organizations' large legacy systems, which represent significant investments and almost unfathomable amounts of critical data. Companies can't just walk away from the millions of lines of, say, C++ or PowerBuilder code that run their businesses. Just as important, they can't walk away from the skills and talents of their development teams.

As excited as we are about the J2EE standards and their promise, Sybase is taking the open standards one step further by ensuring CORBA compatibility as part of our strategy. CORBA not only provides a standard for what objects look like but, with IIOP, also defines how objects should communicate between systems. So while we fully support J2EE, we also support COBRA in terms of the wire protocol.

Sybase's unique commitment to embracing both J2EE and CORBA gives developers the ability to successfully deliver distributed, component-based applications that tie together old and new technologies. It lets developers deliver the next generation of Internet applications while leveraging an organization's previous investments and the developers' own expertise. You can't exaggerate the importance of that, either.