Can I make do with just Tomcat, OR do I really need JBoss ?

[Anonmo Larry]

Hi,

May I know :
- when do I REALLY need to use an app server like JBoss and
- when a web server like Tomcat is sufficient/enough for my needs ?

I noticed that Tomcat itself has the following :
- provides its own JNDI service
- provides transaction management & resource configuration support through the use of Tyrex 1.0 - allows user to obtain JTA/JCA resources from JNDI namespace, as well as the standard javax.transaction.UserTransaction.

I have the feeling that Tomcat is rather complete for a not-too-complex-webapp. It even has JNDI service, transaction management etc (what else ?)

Of course the obvious answer would be...if you need EJB, then you must use an app server like JBoss. But if I don't use EJB, what kind of features that Tomcat doesn't have that I must use JBoss ?

On the other hand, I think most people just go directly with JBoss, since JBoss includes Tomcat anyway.

I am building a not-too-complex-webapp. I just want to be able to justify when I should use JBoss. I don't want to use a hammer to kill an ant.

Thank you lotz.
[ August 22, 2006: Message edited by: Anonmo Larry ]

[William Brogden]

If you are not using EJB you certainly should be able to do this with Tomcat. No reason to clog up your system with stuff you dont need.
Furthermore, if you stick to the published servlet api and avoid hard coding details that might vary, moving your app to another server should be easy.

Bill