OpenXava
Encyclopedia
OpenXava is a web application framework
for developing business applications in an effective way. It not only allows rapid and easy development of CRUD modules and report generation, but also provides flexibility to develop complex real life business applications like accounting packages, customer relationship, invoicing, warehouse management, etc.
OpenXava allows developers to define applications with POJOs
, JPA
and Java 5 annotations
.
Currently OpenXava generates Java Web Application
s (Java EE
) which can be deployed in any Java Portal Server (JSR168) as portlet
applications.
The essence of OpenXava is that the developer
defines instead of programming, and the framework
automatically provides the user interface
, the data access, the default behavior, etc. In this way, all common issues are solved easily, but the developer always has the possibility of manually programming any part of the application, in this way it is flexible enough to solve any particular cases. OpenXava is based on the concept of the business component.
because it allows defining all information about a business concept in a single place. For example, for defining the concept of Invoice
, in OpenXava a single file (Invoice.java) is used, and all information about invoice concept (including data structure, user interface
layout, mapping with database
, validations, calculations, etc) is defined there.
In a MVC
framework
the business logic
(the Model), the user interface
(the View) and the behavior (the Controller) are defined separately. These types of framework
s are useful if the rate of change of logic and data structures is low and the possibility of changing user interface
technology or data access technology is high.
In OpenXava, the addition of a new field to an Invoice only requires changing a single file: Invoice.java.
But MVC
framework
s are cumbersome when changes to structure and data are very frequent (as in the business application case). Imagine the simplest change, adding a new field to an Invoice. In the MVC framework the developer must change three sections: the user interface
, the model class
and the database table. Moreover if the developer uses Java EE design patterns
he has to change the DTO
class, the Facade
Session Bean, the Entity Bean
mapping, etc.
Using OpenXava makes it possible to allocate the development work using a business logic oriented task distribution. For example Invoice
to one developer
, Delivery to another, as opposed to technology layer business logic
to one developer, user interface
to another.
Web application framework
A web application framework is a software framework that is designed to support the development of dynamic websites, web applications and web services. The framework aims to alleviate the overhead associated with common activities performed in Web development...
for developing business applications in an effective way. It not only allows rapid and easy development of CRUD modules and report generation, but also provides flexibility to develop complex real life business applications like accounting packages, customer relationship, invoicing, warehouse management, etc.
OpenXava allows developers to define applications with POJOs
Plain Old Java Object
In computing software, POJO is an acronym for Plain Old Java Object. The name is used to emphasize that a given object is an ordinary Java Object, not a special object...
, JPA
Java Persistence API
The Java Persistence API, sometimes referred to as JPA, is a Java programming language framework managing relational data in applications using Java Platform, Standard Edition and Java Platform, Enterprise Edition....
and Java 5 annotations
Java annotation
An annotation, in the Java computer programming language, is a special form of syntactic metadata that can be added to Java source code. Classes, methods, variables, parameters and packages may be annotated...
.
Currently OpenXava generates Java Web Application
Web application
A web application is an application that is accessed over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. The term may also mean a computer software application that is coded in a browser-supported language and reliant on a common web browser to render the application executable.Web applications are...
s (Java EE
Java Platform, Enterprise Edition
Java Platform, Enterprise Edition or Java EE is widely used platform for server programming in the Java programming language. The Java platform differs from the Java Standard Edition Platform in that it adds libraries which provide functionality to deploy fault-tolerant, distributed, multi-tier...
) which can be deployed in any Java Portal Server (JSR168) as portlet
Portlet
Portlets are pluggable user interface software components that are managed and displayed in a web portal. Portlets produce fragments of markup code that are aggregated into a portal. Typically, following the desktop metaphor, a portal page is displayed as a collection of non-overlapping portlet...
applications.
The essence of OpenXava is that the developer
Software developer
A software developer is a person concerned with facets of the software development process. Their work includes researching, designing, developing, and testing software. A software developer may take part in design, computer programming, or software project management...
defines instead of programming, and the framework
Software framework
In computer programming, a software framework is an abstraction in which software providing generic functionality can be selectively changed by user code, thus providing application specific software...
automatically provides the user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
, the data access, the default behavior, etc. In this way, all common issues are solved easily, but the developer always has the possibility of manually programming any part of the application, in this way it is flexible enough to solve any particular cases. OpenXava is based on the concept of the business component.
Business component versus MVC
A business component includes all software artifacts needed to define a business concept. OpenXava is a business component frameworkSoftware framework
In computer programming, a software framework is an abstraction in which software providing generic functionality can be selectively changed by user code, thus providing application specific software...
because it allows defining all information about a business concept in a single place. For example, for defining the concept of Invoice
Invoice
An invoice or bill is a commercial document issued by a seller to the buyer, indicating the products, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services the seller has provided the buyer. An invoice indicates the buyer must pay the seller, according to the payment terms...
, in OpenXava a single file (Invoice.java) is used, and all information about invoice concept (including data structure, user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
layout, mapping with database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
, validations, calculations, etc) is defined there.
In a MVC
Model-view-controller
Model–view–controller is a software architecture, currently considered an architectural pattern used in software engineering. The pattern isolates "domain logic" from the user interface , permitting independent development, testing and maintenance of each .Model View Controller...
framework
Software framework
In computer programming, a software framework is an abstraction in which software providing generic functionality can be selectively changed by user code, thus providing application specific software...
the business logic
Business logic
Business logic, or domain logic, is a non-technical term generally used to describe the functional algorithms that handle information exchange between a database and a user interface.- Scope of business logic :Business logic:...
(the Model), the user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
(the View) and the behavior (the Controller) are defined separately. These types of framework
Software framework
In computer programming, a software framework is an abstraction in which software providing generic functionality can be selectively changed by user code, thus providing application specific software...
s are useful if the rate of change of logic and data structures is low and the possibility of changing user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
technology or data access technology is high.
In OpenXava, the addition of a new field to an Invoice only requires changing a single file: Invoice.java.
But MVC
Model-view-controller
Model–view–controller is a software architecture, currently considered an architectural pattern used in software engineering. The pattern isolates "domain logic" from the user interface , permitting independent development, testing and maintenance of each .Model View Controller...
framework
Software framework
In computer programming, a software framework is an abstraction in which software providing generic functionality can be selectively changed by user code, thus providing application specific software...
s are cumbersome when changes to structure and data are very frequent (as in the business application case). Imagine the simplest change, adding a new field to an Invoice. In the MVC framework the developer must change three sections: the user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
, the model class
Class (computer science)
In object-oriented programming, a class is a construct that is used as a blueprint to create instances of itself – referred to as class instances, class objects, instance objects or simply objects. A class defines constituent members which enable these class instances to have state and behavior...
and the database table. Moreover if the developer uses Java EE design patterns
Design pattern (computer science)
In software engineering, a design pattern is a general reusable solution to a commonly occurring problem within a given context in software design. A design pattern is not a finished design that can be transformed directly into code. It is a description or template for how to solve a problem that...
he has to change the DTO
Data Transfer Object
Data transfer object , is a design pattern used to transfer data between software application subsystems. DTOs are often used in conjunction with data access objects to retrieve data from a database....
class, the Facade
Façade pattern
The facade pattern is a software engineering design pattern commonly used with Object-oriented programming. The name is by analogy to an architectural facade....
Session Bean, the Entity Bean
Entity Bean
An Entity Bean is a type of Enterprise JavaBean, a server-side J2EE component, that represents persistent data maintained in a database. An entity bean can manage its own persistence or can delegate this function to its EJB Container . An entity bean is identified by a primary key...
mapping, etc.
Using OpenXava makes it possible to allocate the development work using a business logic oriented task distribution. For example Invoice
Invoice
An invoice or bill is a commercial document issued by a seller to the buyer, indicating the products, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services the seller has provided the buyer. An invoice indicates the buyer must pay the seller, according to the payment terms...
to one developer
Software developer
A software developer is a person concerned with facets of the software development process. Their work includes researching, designing, developing, and testing software. A software developer may take part in design, computer programming, or software project management...
, Delivery to another, as opposed to technology layer business logic
Business logic
Business logic, or domain logic, is a non-technical term generally used to describe the functional algorithms that handle information exchange between a database and a user interface.- Scope of business logic :Business logic:...
to one developer, user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
to another.
Features
These are some of the main features of OpenXava:- High productivity for developing business applications.
- Short learning curveLearning curveA learning curve is a graphical representation of the changing rate of learning for a given activity or tool. Typically, the increase in retention of information is sharpest after the initial attempts, and then gradually evens out, meaning that less and less new information is retained after each...
and easy to use. - Flexible enough to create sophisticated applications.
- It's possible to insert custom functionality in any place.
- Based on the concept of business component.
- Generate a full Java EEJava Platform, Enterprise EditionJava Platform, Enterprise Edition or Java EE is widely used platform for server programming in the Java programming language. The Java platform differs from the Java Standard Edition Platform in that it adds libraries which provide functionality to deploy fault-tolerant, distributed, multi-tier...
application, including AJAXAjax (programming)Ajax is a group of interrelated web development methods used on the client-side to create asynchronous web applications...
user interfaceUser interfaceThe user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
. - Supports any application serverApplication serverAn application server is a software framework that provides an environment in which applications can run, no matter what the applications are or what they do...
(TomcatApache TomcatApache Tomcat is an open source web server and servlet container developed by the Apache Software Foundation...
, JBossJBossJBoss Application Server is an open-source Java EE-based application server. An important distinction for this class of software is that it not only implements a server that runs on Java, but it actually implements the Java EE part of Java...
, WebSphereWebSphere Application ServerIBM WebSphere Application Server , a software application server, is the flagship product within IBM's WebSphere brand. It was initially created by Donald Ferguson, who later became CTO of CA Technologies, and the first version launched in 1998....
, etc). - Supports JSR168: All OpenXava modules are standard portletPortletPortlets are pluggable user interface software components that are managed and displayed in a web portal. Portlets produce fragments of markup code that are aggregated into a portal. Typically, following the desktop metaphor, a portal page is displayed as a collection of non-overlapping portlet...
s too. - EJB3 JPAJava Persistence APIThe Java Persistence API, sometimes referred to as JPA, is a Java programming language framework managing relational data in applications using Java Platform, Standard Edition and Java Platform, Enterprise Edition....
complete support - It's tested with the portals: Jetspeed-2, WebSphere PortalWebSphere PortalIBM WebSphere Portal is a set of software tools that enables companies to build and manage web portals.According to a Gartner Research comparison of software for horizontal portals, WebSphere Portal software is a leader in that market, having delivered "significantproduct innovation," and being...
, Liferay and Stringbeans. - Easy integration of reports made with JasperReportsJasperReportsTeodor Danciu began work on JasperReports in June 2001, the sf.net project was registered in September 2001 and JasperReports 0.1.5 was released on November 3, 2001.JasperReports Version 1.0 was released on July 21, 2005....
(that use Jakarta VelocityJakarta VelocityApache Velocity is an open source software project directed by the Apache Software Foundation. Velocity is a Java-based template engine that provides a simple yet powerful template language to reference objects defined in Java code...
and VTL - Velocity Template Language) - Licensed under GNU Lesser General Public LicenseGNU Lesser General Public LicenseThe GNU Lesser General Public License or LGPL is a free software license published by the Free Software Foundation . It was designed as a compromise between the strong-copyleft GNU General Public License or GPL and permissive licenses such as the BSD licenses and the MIT License...
. - All labels and messages are in EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, IndonesianIndonesian languageIndonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
, FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, ChineseChinese languageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and CatalanCatalan languageCatalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
, with more coming.
See also
- Comparison of web application frameworksComparison of web application frameworksThis is a comparison of notable web application frameworks.-Perl:-PHP:-Java:-Python:-Ruby:-CFML :-ASP.NET:-Other:-ASP.NET:-C++:-CFML:-Python:-Java:-PHP:-Ruby:-Others:...
- Java EE
- Model driven development