Apple WebObjects 5 - Manual (Page 4)

All web application servers are designed to solve the same basic problem: how to create and
maintain dynamic information. Static websites store all their content, presentation, and naviga-
tion information in HTML files. Not only does this make it very difficult for webmasters to do
rapid or complex updates, it also means that every visitor sees exactly the same information in
exactly the same way.
To solve this problem, application servers typically store their content in a database and use
some form of scripting to create web pages dynamically, in real time. While this approach
allows webmasters to create sites that have continuously updated content, such flexibility
usually comes at the price of greatly increased complexity. This complexity lengthens develop-
ment cycles, makes the website harder to maintain, and increases qualification efforts.
The WebObjects architecture.
WebObjects improves on the traditional application server architecture with an architecture
that cleanly separates the database access layer, the application-specific Java code, and the
web page or Java client presentation layer. Supported by rich object-oriented frameworks,
this thoughtfully designed architecture is the foundation of the powerful technologies in
WebObjects. Our patented object-relational mapping engine provides automated database
access via Enterprise Objects. Web Components enable the efficient generation of HTML, XML,
or SMIL from reusable templates. When HTML interfaces aren’t enough, rich three-tier Java
client applications are supported with EOAssociations.
An integrated suite of graphical tools streamlines application development. Unlike other
graphical tools that generate hard-to-read code, the WebObjects tools dynamically bind appli-
cation components with XML-like data structures, greatly simplifying application maintenance.
Application components can be reused, and incremental development is easy. Both of those
capabilities reduce your total cost of ownership over the life cycle of an application.
The WebObjects Architecture
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