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An application server is a software engine that delivers applications to client computers or devices, typically through the Internet and using the HyperText Transfer Protocol. In computer science a software engine refers to the core of a Computer program. Application software is a subclass of Computer software that employs the capabilities of a computer directly and thoroughly to a task that the user wishes to perform A client is an application or system that accesses a remote service on another Computer system, known as a server, by way of a Network. Hypertext Transfer Protocol ( HTTP) is a Communications protocol for the transfer of information on the Internet. Application servers are distinguished from web servers by the extensive use of server-side dynamic content and frequent integration with database engines. The term web server can mean one of two things A Computer program that is responsible for accepting HTTP requests from web clients which are Server-side refers to operations that are performed by the server in a Client-server relationship in Computer networking. Classical Hypertext navigation occurs among A database engine is the underlying software component that a Database management system (DBMS uses to create retrieve update and delete (see CRUD (acronym

An application server handles most, if not all, of the business logic and data access of the application (a. Business logic is a non-technical term generally used to describe the functional Algorithms which handle Information exchange between a Database and a Data access typically refers to software and activities related to storing retrieving or acting on Data housed in a Database or other repository k. a. centralization). The main benefit of an application server is the ease of application development, since applications need not be programmed; instead, they are assembled from building blocks provided by the application server. Computer programs (also software programs, or just programs) are instructions for a Computer. For example, a Wiki is an application server that allows users to build dynamic content assembled from articles. Wiki software is a type of Collaborative software that runs a Wiki system Classical Hypertext navigation occurs among An article is a stand-alone section of a larger written work These nonfictional Prose compositions appear in Magazines Newspapers Academic journals Moreover, Wikipedia is an assembled Wiki that delivers an encyclopedia stored in a filesystem, with changes to the encyclopedia stored in a database. ***************************************************************************************** * * An encyclopedia (or '''encyclopædia''') is a comprehensive written Compendium that contains Information on either all branches of Knowledge In Computing, a file system (often also written as filesystem) is a method for storing and organizing Computer files and the data they contain to make A Computer Database is a structured collection of records or data that is stored in a computer system

Application servers run on many platforms, and the term colloquially applies to two different software applications. In Computing, a platform describes some sort of Hardware architecture or Software framework (including Application frameworks, that allows The term is used to refer to servers of web-based applications, such as integrated platforms for e-commerce, content management systems, and web-site builders. Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce' or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic A content management system ( CMS) is a computer application used to create edit manage and publish content in a consistently organized fashion Alternatively, the term is used as a synonym for web application framework. A web application framework is a Software framework that is designed to support the development of dynamic websites, Web applications and

Contents

Common features

Application servers typically bundle middleware to enable applications to intercommunicate with dependent applications, like web servers, database management systems, and chart programs. Middleware is computer Software that connects Software components or applications The term web server can mean one of two things A Computer program that is responsible for accepting HTTP requests from web clients which are A database management system ( DBMS) is Computer software designed for the purpose of managing Databases DBMSes may use any of a variety of Data models A chart or graph is a type of Information graphic, that represents tabular numeric data and/or functions. Some application servers also provide an API, making them operating system independent. An operating system (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a Computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination Portals are a common application server mechanism by which a single point of entry is provided to multiple applications. An enterprise portal, also known as an enterprise information portal (EIP or corporate portal, is a framework for integrating information people and processes across

Programming is minimized because the application server has the user interface instructions already built in. The instructions are contained in output objects, and database datatypes are preassigned to output objects. A data type in Programming languages is an attribute of a datum which tells the computer (and the programmer something about the kind of datum it is Configuring the application means the developer is assigning elements of the application to database datatypes. When the server is running, data is requested by the client, causing the assigned user interface instructions to be sent to the client along with the data. Client-side data integrity is refined by programming hook functions, which are simultaneously sent to the client. For the slang term meaning female prostitution see Prostitution.

History

Applications historically were stored on mainframe computers and delivered to computer terminals. Mainframes (often colloquially referred to as Big Iron) are Computers used mainly by large organizations for critical applications typically bulk data A computer terminal is an electronic or electromechanical hardware device that is used for entering data into and displaying data from a Computer or a Computing Only large institutions — such as governments, banks, and large corporations — could afford the facilities, equipment, and staff to support mainframes. The 1960's saw the introduction of the mini computer. A minicomputer (colloquially mini) is a class of multi-user Computers that lies in the middle range of the computing spectrum in between the largest Multi-user Mini computers are much smaller, less powerful, and much less expensive than mainframe computers. However, computer terminals were still used to interact with the application.

Following the introduction of the personal computer in the 1980s, and more specifically the graphical user interface in the 1990s, the client-server computing paradigm was developed. A personal computer ( PC) is any Computer whose original sales price size and capabilities make it useful for individuals and which is intended to be operated The client-server Software architecture model distinguishes client systems from server systems which communicate over a Computer network In the client-server architecture, applications are stored on the server computer and the personal computer serves as the user interface. In computing network architecture is the design of a Computer network. A server is a Computer dedicated to providing one or more services over a computer network typically through a request-response routine The user interface (or Human Computer Interface) is the aggregate of means by which people&mdash the users '&mdash interact with the System In this architecture the user interface is a computer program running separately from the database server program. Computer programs (also software programs, or just programs) are instructions for a Computer. A database server is a Computer program that provides Database services to other computer programs or Computers as defined by the Client-server While this freed the database server from managing both the data and the user interface, it required the system administrator to update the client software on each personal computer individually when changes were made. A system administrator, systems administrator, or sysadmin, is a person employed to maintain and operate a Computer system and/or network.

Following the introduction of the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s, the application server paradigm was developed. The World Wide Web (commonly shortened to the Web) is a system of interlinked Hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. Application servers are a throwback to mainframe computing in that both the application and user interface are stored on the server computer. The difference, though, is the client is now a thin client or a personal computer running a browser. A thin client (sometimes also called a lean or slim client) is a client computer or client software in Client-server architecture networks A web browser is a software application which enables a user to display and interact with text images videos music games and other information typically located on a The server sends both the instructions for the user interface along with the data to the client. In Computer science, an instruction is a single operation of a processor defined by an Instruction set architecture. In Computer science, data is anything in a form suitable for use with a Computer. The client then uses its own processing power to format the data using the instructions received. Application servers store the user interface instructions in interface modules which are then assigned to database datatypes. A data type in Programming languages is an attribute of a datum which tells the computer (and the programmer something about the kind of datum it is When a database element of a particular database datatype is requested, the application server sends the module's instructions along with the requested data to the client.

Java application servers

Following the success of the Java platform, the term application server sometimes refers to a Java Platform--Enterprise Edition (J2EE) or Java EE 5 application server. Java refers to a number of Computer software products and specifications from Sun Microsystems that together provide a system for developing Application software Java Platform Enterprise Edition or Java EE is a widely used platform for server programming in the Java programming language Among the better known Java Enterprise Edition application servers are WebLogic Server (BEA), JBoss (Red Hat), WebSphere Application Server and WebSphere Application Server Community Edition (IBM), JRun (Adobe), Apache Geronimo (Apache Software Foundation), Oracle OC4J (Oracle Corporation), Sun Java System Application Server (Sun Microsystems), SAP Web Application Server and Glassfish Application Server (based on Sun Java System Application Server). Owned by Oracle Corporation, BEA WebLogic is a J2EE platform product family that includes A J2EE Application server, WebLogic JBoss Application Server (or JBoss AS) is a Free software / open source Java EE -based Application server. In Computing, Red Hat Inc ( is a company dedicated to Free and open source software, and a major Linux distribution vendor IBM WebSphere Application Server ( WAS) a software Application server, is the flagship product within IBM 's WebSphere brand WebSphere Application Server Community Edition (from now on WASCE is a free Java EE 5 server based on Apache Geronimo for building and managing International Business Machines Corporation abbreviated IBM and nicknamed "Big Blue", is a multinational Computer Technology JRun is a J2EE Application server, originally developed in 1997 as a Java Servlet engine by Live Software and subsequently purchased Adobe bricks are a Natural building material made from Sand, Clay, water and some kind of fibrous or Organic material ( Sticks, In Computing, the Oracle Application Server 10g (the "g" stands for Grid) consists of an integrated standards-based software platform. Oracle Corporation ( specializes in developing and marketing Enterprise software products — particularly Database management systems In 2007 Oracle ranked The Sun Java System Application Server, or SJSAS, is a platform for delivering server-side Java applications and Web services Sun Microsystems Inc ( is a multinational vendor of Computers computer components Computer software, and Information technology services SAP NetWeaver Application server is a component of the NetWeaver solution which works as a web application server to SAP solutions GlassFish is an open source Application server project led by Sun Microsystems for the Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE platform

JOnAS application server was the first open source application server to have achieved official compliance with the Java Enterprise Specification. JOnAS is an open-source implementation of the Java EE Application server specification developed and hosted by the ObjectWeb consortium (ObjectWeb is a Java Platform Enterprise Edition or Java EE is a widely used platform for server programming in the Java programming language BEA delivered the first Java EE 5 certified application server followed by Sun Microsystems' reference implementation GlassFish. GlassFish is an open source Application server project led by Sun Microsystems for the Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE platform

The Web modules are servlets and JavaServer Pages, and business logic is built into Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB-3 and later). The Java Servlet API allows a Software developer to add dynamic content to a Web server using the Java platform. JavaServer Pages ( JSP) is a Java technology that allows Software developers to dynamically generate HTML, XML or other types of documents Enterprise JavaBeans&trade ( EJB) is a managed server-side component architecture for modular construction of enterprise applications The Hibernate project offers an EJB-3 container implementation for the JBoss Application server. JBoss Application Server (or JBoss AS) is a Free software / open source Java EE -based Application server. Tomcat from Apache and JOnAS from ObjectWeb are typical of containers into which these modules can be put.

A Java Server Page (JSP) is a servlet from Java that executes in a Web container—the Java equivalent of CGI scripts. The Common Gateway Interface ( CGI) is a standard protocol for interfacing external Application software with an information server JSPs are a way to create HTML pages by embedding references to the server logic within the page. HTML, an initialism of HyperText Markup Language, is the predominant Markup language for Web pages It provides a means to describe the structure HTML coders and Java programmers can work side by side by referencing each other's code from within their own. JavaBeans are the independent class components of the Java architecture from Sun Microsystems. JavaBeans are reusable software components for Java that can be manipulated visually in a builder tool Sun Microsystems Inc ( is a multinational vendor of Computers computer components Computer software, and Information technology services

The application servers mentioned above mainly serve Web applications. Some application servers target networks other than the Web: Session Initiation Protocol servers, for instance, target telephony networks. The Session Initiation Protocol ( SIP) is a signalling protocol widely used for setting up and tearing down Multimedia Communication sessions

Microsoft platform

Microsoft's contribution to application servers is the .NET Framework. This technology includes the Windows Communication Foundation, .NET Remoting, Microsoft Message Queuing, ASP.NET, ADO.NET, and Internet Information Services. Windows Communication Foundation, or just WCF, is a programming framework used to build applications that inter-communicate Microsoft Message Queuing or MSMQ is a Message Queue implementation developed by Microsoft and deployed in its Windows Server operating systems ASPNET is a Web application framework developed and marketed by Microsoft, that Programmers can use to build dynamic Web sites Web applications ADONET is a set of computer software components that can be used by programmers to access data and data services Internet Information Services ( IIS)&mdashformerly called Internet Information Server &mdashis a Microsoft -produced set of Internet-based services

Other platforms

Open source application servers are available from other vendors. Examples include Appaserver, Base4 and Zope. Appaserver is an open-source, Application server used to build or create Multi-user, Database applications Base4 is a Free ( LGPL) Application server for generating sharing and re-using. Zope is a free and open-source, Object-oriented web Application server written in the Python Programming language.

Non-Java offerings typically have no interoperability specifications, like the Java Specification Record. The Java Community Process or JCP, established in 1998, is a formalized process which allows interested parties to be involved in the definition of future versions As a result, interoperability between non-Java products is poor compared to that of Java EE based products. To address these shortcomings, specifications for enterprise application integration and service-oriented architecture were designed to connect the many different products. Enterprise Application Integration (EAI is defined as the uses of Software and computer systems architectural principles to integrate a set of enterprise computer applications Service-oriented architecture ( SOA) is a method for Systems development and integration where functionality is grouped around Business processes These specifications include Business Application Programming Interface, Web Services Interoperability, and Java EE Connector Architecture. BAPI is Business API. It is used in mySAP to achieve business related functionalities The Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I is an industry consortium chartered to promote interoperability amongst the stack of Web services specifications Java EE Connector Architecture ( JCA) is a Java -based technology solution for connecting Application servers and Enterprise information systems

Advantages of application servers

Data and code integrity 
By centralizing business logic on an individual or small number of server machines, updates and upgrades to the application for all users can be guaranteed. Data integrity is a term used in Computer science and Telecommunications that can mean ensuring data is "whole" or complete the condition in which data are There is no risk of old versions of the application accessing or manipulating data in an older, incompatible manner.
Centralized configuration 
Changes to the application configuration, such as a move of database server, or system settings, can be done centrally.
Security 
A central point through which access to data and portions of the application itself can be managed is considered a security benefit, devolving responsibility for authentication away from the potentially insecure client layer without exposing the database layer. This article describes how security can be achieved through design and engineering
Performance 
By limiting the network traffic to performance tier traffic, it is perceived that the client-server model improves the performance of large applications in heavy usage environments. Computer performance is characterized by the amount of useful work accomplished by a computer system compared to the time and resources used In Software engineering, multi-tier architecture (often referred to as n-tier architecture) is a Client-server architecture in which an application
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) 
In combination, the benefits above are considered to represent a cost saving to a company when developing enterprise applications. Total cost of ownership (TCO is a financial estimate designed to help consumers and enterprise managers assess direct and indirect costs A J2EE application or a Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition application is any deployable unit of J2EE functionality In practice, however, the technical challenges of writing software that conforms to that paradigm combined with the need for software distribution to distribute client code somewhat negate these benefits. A software distribution, also referred to as a software distro, is a bundle of a specific Software (or a collection of multiple even an entire Operating

See also

References

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