1.1. Understanding Java EE

When you want to handle collections of objects, you don't start by developing your own hashtable; you use the collection API. Similarly, if you need a transactional, secure, interoperable, and distributed application, you don't want to develop all the low-level APIs: you use the Enterprise Edition of Java. Just as Java Standard Edition (Java SE) provides an API to handle collections, Java EE provides a standard way to handle transactions with Java Transaction API (JTA), messaging with Java Message Service (JMS), or persistence with Java Persistence API (JPA). Java EE is a set of specifications intended for enterprise applications. It can be seen as an extension of Java SE to facilitate the development of distributed, robust, powerful, and highly available applications.

Java EE 6 is an important milestone. Not only does it follow the steps of Java EE 5 by focusing on an easier development model, it also adds new specifications and brings profiles and pruning to make it lighter. The release of Java EE 6 coincides closely with the tenth anniversary of the enterprise platform. It combines the advantages of the Java language with experience gained over the last ten years. Moreover, it profits from the dynamism of open source communities as well as the rigor of the JCP. Today Java EE is a well-documented platform with experienced developers, a large community, and many deployed applications running on companies' servers. Java EE is a suite of APIs to build standard component-based multitier applications. These components are deployed in different containers offering a series of services.