Once a user has obtained appl.xml and impl.xml files -- for example, by developing them in the ProjectManager tool, downloading them, and saving them in the local file system -- he or she may automatically generate the application. Generation is done using a plugin within a comprehensive development environment. We have developed two such plugins -- one for WebSphere Studio 5.1.2 and another for Rational Application Developer 7.5. Because of WSAD's smaller footprint and proven reliability, we continue to maintain it, although future work is likely to be focused increasingly on the RAD version.Approach
The interface for the plugin is shown, below:
Invoked from within the J2EE perspective in either WSAD or RAD, the plugin asks for the locations of the appl.xml and impl.xml files. It also allows the user to specify a project name prefix, in this case Ab37, that will be appended to the generated names for all application projects within the development environment. A package prefix, in this case jbs.ab37, that will be appended to all generated Java package names can also be provided. For example, in the image shown below, one can see the Ab37Ejbentity project and in its ejbModule folder, the jbs.ab37.ejbentity.ab package.
The plugin first generates the complete project structure, Java packages, and configuration files for the application. It then generates and stores within the project and package structures the Java code for the various layers of the application (or PhP code, for those applications that include only two layers within an HTTP container). Below is an example application generated within RAD 7.5:
