Introduction
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Introduction

Contents

What is Gen2J?
Why do I need Gen2J?
Gen2J - features at a glance

What is Gen2J?

Gen2J is a J2EE application generator which can create a complete working application from a UML model of the business domain. It takes as input a UML model of the core business classes, and creates a ready-to-deploy J2EE application with EJBs in the business-logic tier, and a web front-end. Gen2J generates the code for all the standard functions of locating, displaying and updating the business objects in the application. The developer writes code for the application-specific business logic, which is merged into the generated application. In a typical application, it is expected that the developer-written code will be around 20% of the total.

Why do I need Gen2J?

The simple answer is: it will you save you a huge amount of time! If you are developing a J2EE application, it can automatically generate most of the code for you, saving you the weeks or months it would have taken to write and debug that code.

But as well as saving time, Gen2J will:

  • Create a system with a solid architecture, using "best-practice" designs
  • Use a simple and consistent style throughout, making future maintenance easier
  • Allow you to concentrate on the important business functions of the application, while it takes care of the tedious "plumbing"

And it does all of this while still leaving you the freedom to tailor the application as you require. You can and override as much or as little of the generated code as you wish - all changes are merged in seamlessly.

Gen2J - features at a glance

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  • Generates an Entity EJB and a Value Object for each core domain class
  • Generates a Session EJB for each Actor in the UML model which provides a Session Facade giving access only to the functions and data items which that Actor may use
  • Generates a tier of Use Case Model classes (an extension of the Business Delegate idea) which is reusable by different types of client application (web, GUI or others)
  • Generates a web application using Struts whose presentation views can be easily and extensively customised by the developer
  • Generates a J2EE EAR file, complete with deployment descriptors, ready to install on a J2EE-compliant application server
  • Merges in additional code written by the developer to implement application-specific business logic, or to override or add to the generated code. (Round-trip engineering to allow the developer to change the generated code directly is coming soon!)
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