eXo Industry Trends Part 2


Java, .Net, and PHP Websites

Generally speaking the list above are the three major languages today for building dynamic websites with huge ecosystems.

Java websites are typically built from a transactional and heavy Relational Database driven set of needs. Large enterprises and governments used Java Application Servers to build scalable, secure and transactional websites.

.Net and PHP have typically been associated with other types of websites where the design is more about the interactions with the users. Facebook would be a posterchild for this generalization as it is built on PHP and has very high interactivity as the big design goal.

The .Net and PHP worlds have further benefited from enhanced platforms to make building websites even faster with Sharepoint and Drupal. These platforms include features to help build websites, have a focus on content in addition to relational data, allow collaboration, and provide a robust set of templates and applications that can be simply added. Sharepoint has over $1B per year of revenue and is one of Microsoft's fastest growing businesses.

In the Java world, Portals have been around for 10 years to enable faster and more collaborative website development. While they have had success, they are not nearly as flexible, agile or broadly featured as the Sharepoint and Drupal platforms. In fact, the term Portal is no longer found in the .Net and PHP world.

This all puts Java shops in an difficult position. End users of Java applications are increasingly demanding more than most Java shops can deliver in terms of website agility. Java websites are typically built around a set of critical business applications, which deliver value. However they have fallen way behind the consumer web.

Rather than going to PHP or .Net, Java shops needing to expand beyond their traditional Relational Database driven applications can now leverage eXo. eXo is built entirely in Java and has a full services based architecture. This gives Java shops the ability to use eXo Services like Content, Collaboration, Social and Knowledge as well as core website services on a Java API level, REST service interface or nearly a dozen other standard interfaces (WebDAV, JCR, CMIS, etc.). Additionally, eXo offers a unique capability to quickly create mashups - leveraging Gadget and REST-based services in a web-based development tool for fast deployment.

eXo is clearly trying to help the Java community stay at the forefront of technology. Our existing partnership with Red Hat on the GateIn Community Portal project is just a glimpse of our overall strategy that we will roll out over the coming year.

Comments

Chris said…
Bob - excellent post. Having worked at BEA Systems in 2000 - 02, i witnessed first hand the build out of the traditional heavy duty web app stack - transactional app server + integration functionality + portal. I spent a fair bit of time looking to see if we would build or buy the portal piece.

The evolution in development languages and platforms has been amazing to watch with the rise of the consumer web. Java does feel left behind. Its good to see eXo moving to fill the gap.

Chris
February 22, 2010 at 8:36 PM
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