Developing data access resources

Various enterprise information systems (EIS) use different methods for storing data. These backend data stores might be relational databases, procedural transaction programs, or object-oriented databases.

About this task

IBM® WebSphere® Application Server provides several options for accessing an information system backend data store:

  • Programming directly to the database through the JDBC 4.0 API, JDBC 3.0 API, or JDBC 2.0 optional package API.
  • Programming to the procedural backend transaction through various Java™ EE Connector Architecture (JCA) 1.0 or 1.5 compliant connectors.
  • Programming in the bean-managed persistence (BMP) bean or servlets indirectly accessing the backend store through either the JDBC API or JCA-compliant connectors.
  • Using container-managed persistence (CMP) beans.
  • [AIX Solaris HP-UX Linux Windows]Using embedded Structured Query Language in Java (SQLJ) support with applications that use DB2® as a backend database.
  • The IBM data access beans also use the JDBC API, and give you a rich set of features and function that hide much of the complexity associated with accessing relational databases.

For all these options, except for using the JCA 1.0 or 1.5 compliant connectors, the prerequisite website details the databases and drivers that are currently supported.

Procedure

  1. Develop data access applications. Develop your application to access data using the various ways available through the application server. You can access data through APIs, container-managed persistence beans, bean-managed persistence beans, session beans, or web components.
  2. Assemble data access applications using the assembly tool. Assemble your application by creating and mapping resource references.
  3. Prepare for deployment by ensuring that the appropriate database objects are available. Create or configure any databases or tables required, set necessary configuration parameters to handle expected load, and configure any necessary JDBC providers and data source objects for servlets, enterprise beans, and client applications to use.
  4. Install the application on your application server.