Last Updated: August 2005

Oracle JDeveloper 10g is a J2EE development environment with end-to-end support for modeling, developing, debugging, and deploying e-business applications and Web services. Oracle JDeveloper 10g allows developers to build J2EE applications and Web services either from scratch or by using a J2EE framework. Whatever implementation is chosen, JDeveloper offers all the productivity tools needed to get the job done.

To maximize developer productivity and freedom to chose implementation at the various layers of the architecture, JDeveloper provides a comprehensive set of integrated tools to support the complete development lifecycle. JDeveloper simplifies J2EE development by providing wizards, editors, visual design tools, drag and drop databinding to user interfaces, and deployment tools to create high-quality, standard J2EE components. JDeveloper also provides a public Extension SDK to extend and customize the development environment and to seamlessly integrate with external products.

Oracle's solution to the ever-increasing complexity of the J2EE platform is the Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF). Based on the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture, Oracle ADF lets application developers focus on the business domain rather than on the underlying technologies. By using visual, declarative, and guided-coding techniques, the framework allows application developers who are not necessarily J2EE experts to quickly become productive. The framework is completely based on industry standards allowing applications built with ADF to be deployed any J2EE server and connect to any SQL database.

Oracle JDeveloper 10g introduces many new features in addition to ADF focusing on J2EE & Web Services, IDE, and Database development features:

Ease of development

• Application Navigator provides a view of pertinent application elements
• Technology Scoping increases productivity by presenting technologies relevant to project when creating new elements
• Application Templates allow users to create applications and projects with desired technology scoping.

Integrated environment focuses on Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern

• Data Controls abstraction layer provides standard method using either EL or Java to bind J2EE Model elements and Business Services including EJBs, Web Services, ADF Business Components, Java classes (JSR 227)
• Declarative Databinding provides binding of model elements and clients using standard methods (JSR 227)
  • Data binding palette visually presents collections, attributes, and actions relevant to model elements and views
  • Drag and drop data binding enables developers to visually bind clients to Model elements with a click of the mouse.
• Visual & Declarative Development of Clients and Views
  • Visual Editor allows developer to work in both visual and code views separately or simultaneously.
  • Integrated WYSIWYG tool supports end-to-end thin client development including dragging and dropping elements and databinding.
  • Common data binding with data controller integration
  • Integrated Property Inspector provides viewing, updating, editing properties for all clients
  • Integrated Structure Pane examines document and file structure of clients providing productivity features for copying, editing, moving, deleting elements
• JSP/HTML
• ADF UIX
  • Updated UIX framework based on XML Visual Editor Framework
  • SPEL databinding expression support in the property inspector
  • New user interface components including additional label/data layouts, navigation bars with choice list options, automated message tips, lists for table row adding.
  • Partial-page rendering for faster performance rendering client pages.
  • Diagramming engine
  • Support for custom look and feel
  • XML Design-time Framework offers creation and manipulation of XML documents
• ADF JClient
  • Runtime and design time support for Spinner Control
  • JClient graphing functionality integrated with the new BI Bean graphing functionality
  • Class browser access from the component palette allows easy access to reuse any project classes
• Visual development of application page flow using Apache Struts
• Page Flow Modeler for modeling Struts Controller components delivers a 4GL-like feel to developers of traditionally complex J2EE applications
• Property Inspector and Structure pane design-time support for declarative editing of configuration files
• Common data binding with data controller integration

back to top

J2EE & Web Services

• ADF Business Components
  • End-to-end modeling of Business Components
  • Common data binding to Business Components application modules with data controller integration
  • User role-based Authorization
  • Installer for easy installation of ADF runtime libraries to OC4J, Oracle Application Server, and other application servers.
  • Designer-ADF Business Components Generation
  • Designer Workarea Connection displays nodes available inside a Designer workarea
• EJB
  • Import EJB wizard
  • Integration with TopLink CMP Beans
  • CMP Mapping Editor to map Entity beans to database tables
  • Generation of WebLogic CMP deployment descriptors
  • End-to-end creation of EJB model components without invoking wizards.
  • Client generation for EJBs.
    
  • Generate Data Transfer Objects for shuttling data across client tier and EJB tier
  • ADF Applications - integrate EJBs with ADF
    • Drag and Drop EJBs to the ADF Data Binding Palette to create ADF Data Control
    • Common data binding to EJBs with data controller integration
• JSP/HTML
  • WYSIWYG editor with toolbar that allows developer to work in both visual and code views separately or simultaneously
  • Optional execution of custom tag libraries in visual editor
  • Develop JSPs using JavaServer Pages Standard Tag Library (JSTL 1.0.3) and Apache Struts 1.1
  • Full CSS development support - tag attribute and value insight, structure, and inspector (coming in production)
  • Code editor enhancements such as Java syntax and semantic error checking within scripting elements or improved tag insight
  • Standards compliance such as JSP fragments, JSPX documents, and XHTML
  • Visual framework for tag library authors for enhanced integration
  • Out-of-box JavaScript support with syntax highlighting
  • Examine Web module directory structure
• Web Services
  • Build, publish, and discover - broader support for builders and users of web services including:
    • Quick publication of a Java class as a web service with one mouse click
    • Support for additional PL/SQL parameter publishing: Boolean, IN/OUT, BLOB, CLOB, XMLType
    • Drag and Drop WSDL from UDDI browser to create client-side stub on diagram
  • Test - integrated testing of WSDL files and running web services for WS-I Basic Profile conformance
    • Enhanced TCP Packet Monitor for monitoring and logging
    • Built-in analysis and reporting tool
  • ADF Applications - integrate web services in ADF Applications
    • Drag and Drop WSDL to the ADF Data Binding Palette to create an ADF Data Control
  • Deployment - additional support
    • Enable database to call web services
    • Deploy web services to the database
• TopLink
  • TopLink mapping editor
  • Support for local database tables
  • Support for TopLink queries and EJBQL
  • Notification process
  • Reverse Engineer database tables as POJO's in Modeler
  • Auto map existing EJBs to database table
  • ADF Applications - integrate TopLink POJO's with ADF
    • Drag and Drop POJO's to the ADF Data Binding Palette to create ADF Data Control
    • Common data binding to POJO's with data controller integration
• Create connections, generate deployment profiles, and deploy to Tomcat, JBoss application servers
• JNDI Browser
• Embedded OC4J Management tool which provides control over testing applications
• Data sources configuration

back to top

• New "flat" look and feel
• Improved window management makes working with multiple editors and views easy
  • Manage documents in the tabbed editor area
  • Split editors to open multiple views of a single document
  • Create tab groups to view multiple documents simultaneously
  • Display multiple Property Inspectors and Structure windows
  • Configurable docking areas (North, South, East, West) for more effective use of real estate

• Integrated Help system improves the usability and speed of finding documentation
  • Help content embedded in the IDE
  • Improved performance
  • Glossary of terms
• Improved Code Editor enhances developer productivity
  • Syntax and semantic error highlighting
  • Import assistance
  • Javadoc comment generation
  • Quick Javadoc popup
  • Surround with common code structures (try/catch, if/else, etc.)
  • Generate accessors (getters and setters) directly from the editor or from the Structure window
  • Enhanced Java structure window
    • Sort and filter contents
    • Access modifiers depicted in icons
    • Method signature details
• Color-coded messages in the Log window makes it easy to find the output of interest
• Audit and Metric tools improve code quality
  • View and report coding convention violations, common pitfalls, and JavaDoc violations
  • Measure code size and complexity attributes
  • Define and customize audit and metric profiles
• HotSwap debugging
  • Recompilation while debugging
  • PopFrame from stack allows re-testing previous calls after recompilation
• Modeling
  • UML Use Case Diagrammer for requirements modeling
  • New UML profiles
    • Database modeler for modeling Tables
    • ADF Component modeler for modeling Application Modules
    • Struts Page Flow modeler for modeling application flows
    • XML modeler for modeling XML schemas
  • Tighter modeler integration with code editing features
  • Javadoc integration to publish standalone modeling documentation, or integrate models with the implementation
  • Transformation from UML Class to Java class or ADF Business Components
  • Major new usability enhancements for manipulating diagrams:
    • Autolayout for convenient organization of model objects
    • Thumbnail view of entire model diagram
    • Scroll diagram while dragging shapes
    • Diagram links to files, URLs, and other resources
  • Tighter integration with Rational Rose and Together modelers with round-trip development
  • Model extensibility framework allows third party integration
• Team Development
  • Redesigned version history
  • Redesigned merge and diffing tools which enables the ability to view and highlight version differences
  • Internal Oracle WebDAV support avoids separate install of IBM WebDAV client
  • Improved and consistent UI for out-of-the box supported source control software: Oracle SCM, ClearCase and CVS
  • Tighter integration between IDE and SCM Framework API for better integration with other third party source control systems
  • CVS
    • New UnCommitted files window that displays the list of files which need to be committed
    • New macros which can be used to integrate third party diff tools or CVS commands
    • Obtain list of available modules in Check out Wizard for local and pserver repositories
  • Expand CVS pserver and local connections to see modules, folders and files in the repository
  • Open historic CVS revisions in a read-only code editor from the history viewer or from the connection browser
  • Support for pserver connections that tunnel through an HTTP proxy server
  • New Remove context menu option
• ClearCase
  • Dynamic list of checked out files
  • New preference to automatically connect to ClearCase on startup
  • Check out operations available on symbolic link folders
• Oracle SCM
  • New wizard to easily add all files in a project to repository
  • Grant and revoke folder access rights from the repository connection navigator
  • Delete workareas from repository connection navigator
  • New conflict status overlay icons for the merged files that have conflict
• Other common features
  • Reorganized Compare menu structure for easier navigation
  • Integration with File System operations such as Rename and Erase From Disk
  • Automatic Check out for version controlled files
  • Ignore whitespace option when comparing files in compare viewer
  • Refresh states option to clear cache
• XML Schema Visual Editor
  • XML Schema 2001 compliant
  • Synchronized Code and diagram
  • Code completion in code editor
  • XML Schema Diagrammer
    • Drag and drop, cut and paste in diagram
    • Expand and collapse any node
    • Zoom in/out
    • Grab scrolling
    • Contextual menus enables adding appropriate elements to diagram easily

back to top

• Improved Database development
  • Separate Connection Navigator to reduce scrolling
  • Apply custom filters to any container node in the schema browser
  • Browse Materialized Views (Snapshots) and Materialized View Logs
  • Edit table definitions
• Database modeling
  • Create, edit, save database schema diagrams
  • Design-capture existing schema objects
  • Create new objects on diagrams
  • Modify existing objects on diagrams
  • Generate SQL scripts from diagrams
    • Create new objects (CREATE statements)
    • Reconcile with existing objects (ALTER statements)
• Offline database objects
  • Include object definitions in projects for use while disconnected
  • Capture existing objects
  • Create new objects
  • Modify existing objects
  • Generate SQL scripts from offline objects
    • Create new objects (CREATE statements)
    • Reconcile with existing objects (ALTER statements)

back to top