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Home > SOA News > Making EJBs Flexible with Environment Entries |
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Introduction EJB environment entries: it's a subject so seemingly elementary that I almost dismissed it as an article topic. However, although simple, environment entries play a huge role in making Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs) flexible. Therefore, at least for beginners, the topic of EJB environment entries is worthwhile. With EJBs, it's possible to create named value entries of type String, Integer, Boolean, Double, Byte, Short, Long and Float within the EJB environment. These references can be used by the bean deployer or assembler to modify the business logic of the bean without altering the underlying code. This is a powerful technique when properly applied. Rules of the Game An environment reference entry is very much like a constant variable that is scoped for a particular EJB. It is set up in the deployment descriptor, and it can be overridden in the deployment plan. There are some very basic rules of the game for using EJB environment entries:
Using Environment References Environment references can be used to control business logic at deployment or assembly time. This is a necessary requirement for the production of "canned beans." The bean developer can set certain parameters, like maximum order size, alarm trigger temperature, minimum applicant age, company name and so on, by looking up environment entries. At assembly or deployment time, the assembler or deployer sets these references to values that reflect the rules of the particular business application. This way the developer is able to build generic or adaptable EJBs that require no re-coding for application in a particular problem domain. Creating Environment References Environment reference entries can be made in the deployment descriptor using the <env-entry> elements. These elements consists of four sub-elements: Element: <description> Description: A textual description of the reference. Element: <env-entry-name> Description: The environment name of the reference. Element: <env-entry-type> Description: The class type of the reference. Element: <env-entry-value> Description: The value assigned to the reference. These elements can be manually entered into the deployment descriptor or, with some application servers, by using graphical tools. (See Example 1 and Figure 1.) Example 1. Excerpt from Deployment Descriptor for Environment Reference Entries (SilverStream)
<enterprise-beans>
<session>
...
<ejb-name>EnvironmentDemo</ejb-name>
...
<env-entry>
<description>
The name of your company.
</description>
<env-entry-name>companyName</env-entry-name>
<env-entry-type>java.lang.String</env-entry-type>
<env-entry-value>Acme Explosives</env-entry-value>
</env-entry>
<env-entry>
<description>
The maximum number of sticks of dynamite allowed per order.
</description>
<env-entry-name>maxSticks</env-entry-name>
<env-entry-type>java.lang.Integer</env-entry-type>
<env-entry-value>12</env-entry-value>
</env-entry>
...
</session>
</enterprise-beans>
Figure 1. Adding an Environment Entry with a Graphical Tool (SilverStream) While the environment entries must be established in the deployment descriptor, their values can be overridden at deployment time. The means for doing this will depend on your EJB container (e.g. an application server) provider. Often this is done with graphical tools or by using a particular deployment plan. (See Figure 2 and Example 2.) Figure 2. Overriding an Environment Entry with a Graphical Tool (SilverStream) Example 2. Excerpt from Deployment Plan for Overridden Environment Entries (SilverStream)
...
<beansList isObject="true" >
<session isObject="true" >
<bean isObject="true" >
<beanName>EnvironmentDemo</beanName>
<environmentList isObject="true" >
<environmentEntry isObject="true" >
<name>companyName</name>
<value>Acme Discount Explosives</value>
</environmentEntry>
<environmentEntry isObject="true" >
<name>maxSticks</name>
<value type="Integer">12</value>
</environmentEntry>
</environmentList>
</bean>
</session>
</beansList>
...
Referencing Environment Entries from your EJBs
Retrieving the value of the environment entry is also relatively simple. According to the rules of the EJB 1.1 specification, environment entries can be found under the java:comp/env context of the JNDI namespace. Therefore, the lookup from within the bean follows the standard JNDI lookup routine commonly used with EJBs. (See Example 3.) Example 3. Excerpt from Session Bean Environment Entry Lookup
public class EnvironmentDemo implements SessionBean
{
...
// get the company name
public String getCompanyName()
{
String companyName = null;
try
{
// Get naming context.
Context ictx = new InitialContext();
Context env = (Context)initCtx.lookup("java:comp/env");
// Get company name
companyName = (String)env.lookup("companyName");
}
catch (Exception e){}
return companyName;
}
// get the maximum number of sticks of dynamite per order
public Integer getMaxSticks()
{
Integer maxSticks = null;
try
{
// Get naming context.
Context ictx = new InitialContext();
Context env = (Context)initCtx.lookup("java:comp/env");
// Get company name
maxSticks = (String)env.lookup("maxSticks");
}
catch (Exception e){}
return maxSticks;
}
...
}
Summary EJB environment entries are a simple way to create flexible EJBs. Environment entries allow changes to be made at the time of assembly or deployment without requiring additional modification to previously tested bean code. This technique enables bean deployers and assemblers to create beans that can be easily applied in many different problem domains simply by changing environment entry values. Copyright 2001, SilverStream Software. Reprinted by permission. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Talk back or comment on this articleThe Best Web Links for Enterprise JavaBeans Free Tutorials for Enterprise JavaBeans The Best Web Links for Application Servers
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