does it still use servlets?

[Amy Phillips]

Hi,
I had been intending to create an online application using jsp, servlets and jdbc however it now seems like a better idea to have the system local for the users. If I were to have an application frontend with the database held on a server would I still need to use servlets and jdbc? Or would it be possible to hold the whole orginal jsp,servlet,jdbc idea on a local server and use it this way?
If I did do this can you set it so the users download the package from the web or off a cd and can install it onto their servers themselves?
Thanks

[Rangarajan Suresh]

Originally posted by Amy Phillips:
Hi,
I had been intending to create an online application using jsp, servlets and jdbc however it now seems like a better idea to have the system local for the users. If I were to have an application frontend with the database held on a server would I still need to use servlets and jdbc? Or would it be possible to hold the whole orginal jsp,servlet,jdbc idea on a local server and use it this way?
If I did do this can you set it so the users download the package from the web or off a cd and can install it onto their servers themselves?
Thanks

Hi,
You can do it whatever way you wish to.
1. Have a Swing/AWT application as the Front end with the Database
2. Have a Web application with JSP,Servlets and host it as an Intranet application, which would be restricted to your local users.
3. Have an application based on MVC architecture.
The choice should depend on your functional/non-functional requirements.

[Amy Phillips]

Ideally I like option 2 with the jsp,servlets and jdbc however I need to interface the application to things like Microsoft project which is not web based and I'm not sure how this would behave. Any ideas?

[William Brogden]

What provision does Microsoft Project have for communicating with other applications?
Bill

[Faisal Khan]

I am aware of a very large application written in Java (not sure whether I should name it) and has been integrated with Microsoft Project but that is as much as I know as my friend worked for them and he mentioned it to me once.
I thought that may help.

[Scott Duncan]

You will need to add a MIME type of 'application/vnd.ms-project' in order for it to be displayed in the browser. Obviously, the client would need to have MS Project on their box as well.

[Scott Duncan]

If you decide to go with a thin client, that is.=)

[Amy Phillips]

Faisal,
That is good news! I have to do this for a university project and have been assured by my supervisor that it is quite straight forward although I have no idea where to begin. Was this application on the web/intranet or installed on a workstation?
William,
Any chance you could expand a little on that - or point me in the direction of more info. I am not very well up on this thick and thin client but would I be right in thinking jsp is thin and an awt app would be thick?
Thanks

[Faisal Khan]

Amy,
The application is deployed on the web, can be used on the internet and intranet. They are using Servlets and JSP as well as a failry big applet (the reason I was told for applet was to achieve certain tasks not easily achieved on the browser).
But the point is that Java code interacts with the MS Project (which is good news for you). I would love to be able to help more but I am conveying second hand information here.

[Nikki Aniban]

Hi Amy,
I found this guy who has the same problem as you on this link:
Java forum: Reading MS project files
Something about this third party API called JIntegra that claims to build a bridge between Java and MS project and many other COM and .NET applications. It seems that you are not alone. Hope this helps. Goodluck!
Nikki

[Scott Duncan]

Amy,
MIME types are associated with virtual hosts. Virtual hosts help your Web Server communicate with your application server (the piece of software that runs your servlets/jsps). They define where your application is at on the server (i.e. the document root), what port to use, and tell your browser what application to use to open and view certain file types (MIME types). For example, when you are surfing the web and come accross a pdf file that opens in your browser, the server that serves it has a MIME type of application/pdf set up. This lets your browser understand what to do when it encounters a .pdf file and it uses acrobat reader to open the file and display it. The same thing could be done for MS project files. One thing is that the client machine must have MS project installed on their machine.
Hope this helps. I prefer thin clients for almost any application that is going to be used by more than a dozen people or so. They are easier to maintain. Also, it would, in my opinion, be a better learning experience. By thin client, I mean a servlet/jsp application. They are called thin because most of the code resides on the server, not the client. A swing client would be called a thick or FAT client.

[Amy Phillips]

Brilliant news
Thank you all for your help. I have decided to stay with the original plan of servlets and jsp (and possibly an applet if need be) and then look into MIME's so make the links.
Thanks everyone!
[ August 17, 2003: Message edited by: Amy Phillips ]