Skip to main content

Developing Java Applications for Google App Engine


For anybody building and deploying Java Web applications, whether internal business applications or public facing applications for general usage, hosting the application is a primary consideration. Google App Engine (GAE) provides a hosting environment that is potentially suitable for both types of applications. Before choosing GAE as the deployment environment a number of decisions, both technical and commercial must be made.
From a technical view, key questions include are what version of Java Standard Edition (JSE) is supported?, is all of enterprise Java supported (JEE)?, are there any special configuration files required ? and many others too. Business considerations include what is cost of the service, what is the support available, the reliability, vendor lock-in etc.
GAE runtime environment uses Java 6 so supports developing applications using Java 5 or 6. The runtime environment has some restrictions which enable it to provide scaling and reliability. A GAE application must not :
  • Write to the filesystem- Google provides a datastore as an alternative
  • Open a socket – Google provides a URLFetch service as an alternative
  • Spawn a new thread
In addition to these high level restrictions then Google publish a white list of the available Java classes from Java SE that can be used. From enterprise Java GAE supports the full Servlet and JSP API’s enabling developers to write applications using Frameworks built on these technologies, such as Spring MVC, Struts etc.
Whilst initially appearing somewhat restrictive, GAE does provide a large number of features and facilities for developers to not only host but also build scalable Java Web applications. I will detail these in further posts. Understanding the limitations/restrictions of Cloud Computing providers is vital when considering their adoption as well as the definite benefits they can bring. If you would like to know more about GAE and other Cloud Computing providers such as Amazon EC2 and Azure, why not consider attending the Learning Tree Cloud Computing Course.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

4 Free Apps For Discovering Great Content On the Go

1. StumbleUpon The granddaddy of discovering random cool stuff online, StumbleUpon will celebrate its 10th anniversary later this year — but its mobile app is less than a year old. On the web, its eight million users have spent the last decade recommending (or disliking) millions of webpages with a thumbs up / thumbs down system on a specially installed browser bar. The StumbleUpon engine then passes on recommendations from users whose interests seem similar to yours. Hit the Stumble button and you’ll get a random page that the engine thinks you’ll like. The more you like or dislike its recommendations, the more these random pages will surprise and delight. Device : iPhone , iPad , Android 2. iReddit Reddit is a self-described social news website where users vote for their favorite stories, pictures or posts from other users, then argue vehemently over their meaning in the comments section. In recent years, it has gained readers as its competitor Digg has lost them. ...
141 comments
CONTINUE READING THIS POST..........

Evolution Of Computer Virus [infographic]

134 comments
CONTINUE READING THIS POST..........

‘Wireless’ humans could backbone new mobile networks

People could form the backbone of powerful new mobile internet networks by carrying wearable sensors. The sensors could create new ultra high bandwidth mobile internet infrastructures and reduce the density of mobile phone base stations.Engineers from Queen’s Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology are working on a new project based on the rapidly developing science of body-centric communications.Social benefits could include vast improvements in mobile gaming and remote healthcare, along with new precision monitoring of athletes and real-time tactical training in team sports, an institute release said.The researchers are investigating how small sensors carried by members of the public, in items such as next generation smartphones, could communicate with each other to create potentially vast body-to-body networks.The new sensors would interact to transmit data, providing ‘anytime, anywhere’ mobile network connectivity.Simon Cotton from the i...
49 comments
CONTINUE READING THIS POST..........