Enterprise

So what are the meanings of "enterprise" in the phrase "Enterprise Java Beans"? Lets consider a few.

the problem

Typically we are dealing with a problem that does not affect just a single small collection of data, or a small segment of our customers.

• Quite possibly there is a database with complex structure, or several databases which may themselves be distributed on different servers.
• Quite possibly the number of potential clients, even for a single component, is quite large, and the number of clients for the project as a while is very large, and very diverse in terms of the method of access.
• Quite possibly even the parts of a typical transaction involve servers in diverse locations, on different hardware and different operating systems.
• Quite possibly there are legacy systems which are the custodians of large amounts of the data involved, and which need to be incorporated in some way into the new system, without having to totally redo them, and take the unthinkable chance of losing any of our current operating capability. We must remain a "going concern" as the new project is phased in.

the technology

• Almost surely the design work will involve a team of substantial size, and their work must be coordinated by having carefully drawn specifications for the interaction between their product.
• Almost surely there will be a layered vertical structure within the project, so that there are carefully defined layers for communication, for presentation, and all the acitivities that lay between.
• Almost surely the structure of a solution will be "multitiered", and responsibility for the correct operation of each tier will be assigned to different groups, which again must communicate only along carefully defined lines, especially since it will always be necessary to be able to "fault trace" when a problem occurs.
• Almost surely just the sheer magnitude of the development, testing, and maintenance problem, and the fact that it is not all done in the same place and by the same people, means that we have to go to a component structure, where the interfaces between the components are quite specifically defined.