We've spoken in the past about creating a UI for deployment descriptors. I'd like this process to be simplified through the management console. Perhaps we could build a configurator service that generates a deployment descriptor based on certain assumptions defined by the vendor and then allows the user to make alterations to it. If we built it right and plugged it into a nice front-end UI, it could ease a lot of the pain in this area for new users.
I hear from almost everyone I talk to that the configuration complexity is the largest hurdle for newcomers to J2EE. I'd like to address that problem. Another nice thing about this approach is that we could keep standard J2EE DDs in the deployment unit (jar/war/ear) and then keep the container-specific extensions to that DD in another location, potentially outside the deployment unit. With a unified front-end tool for configuring the application, the user wouldn't have to jump through so many hoops during migration. The configurator service could allow plugins for proprietary/container-specific deployment descriptor extensions, and the front-end could just pick them up on the fly. The end goal is that users should be able to drop in a different EJB container (if one exists which can plug into the geronimo core) and the configurator service (and thus the config tools in the management console) would autogenerate new deployment information tailored to the needs of the new container. The user could customize that deployment information for their exceptional circumstances or could leave it to the defaults. Thoughts? -- N. Alex Rupp ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jeremy Boynes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2003 11:59 AM Subject: Re: Demo at ApacheCon > The most painful chunk is the deployment descriptors for the application > itself, especially the CMP entities - we are using an 'advanced' CMP > engine, 'advanced' in that you get complete control of the SQL executed > and that means there is a lot of XML to configure :-)
