Recently Java enterprise web application programming has been leaning towards a more classical J2EE approach. Traditional Java Server Page (JSP) programming, and even libraries such as Struts, are being replaced by new AJAX libraries that make GUI programming more straight forward, robust and easier to unit test.

In this session I will look at what an enterprise web application is and why you should choose an AJAX based library for GUI development over traditional JSP libraries and an Object Relational Mapper (ORM) over traditional JDBC for the Data Access Layer (DAL).

I will look at an AJAX library and an ORM Library and present simple examples of how and where they should be used. I will then look at how to integrate the AJAX library into traditional Spring MVC and how to use Spring Security to authenticate users of the application and secure individual Remote Procedure (RPC) calls made from the client application, running in a browser, to the server.

In the final part of the session I will take a more in-depth look at the ORM library and explain how to use a registry to abstract away Data Access Objects (DAOs) so that the real DAOs can be used in production and integration testing while seamlessly substituting mock objects for unit testing. I will also explain how the tools provided by Spring make integration testing of DAO objects very simple.

About Paul Grenyer

Paul has been programming in one form or another for over 20 years. After several years using C++ and a brief period using C#, Paul is now happy somewhere he hoped he'd never be, programming in Java.

After time in industries such as marking machinery, direct mail, mobile phones, investment banking and Internet TV, Paul is currently working for an exciting new company based in Norwich where he heads up an ever growing team of senior and highly skilled people.

He has been an ACCU member since 2001, a regular publications contributor, including the now well established Desert Island Books column, creator of the mentored developers and a committee member for most of that time. When he's not programming and family life allows, Paul thoroughly enjoys science fiction, heavy metal and cycling.