Unique Technolgies

A Unique Set of Technologies for Creating Component-Based Java Applications
LiveWater is based on a set of key innovations and features that provide developers with the proper foundation for creating enterprise applications through Java components:

• LiveWater Component Definition
• LiveWater Component Managment
• LiveWater Component Packaging and Deployment

LiveWater Component Definition
LiveWater's Component Definition is the foundation of the LiveWater Component Design Center. This is an active, design-time data structure that facilitates the creation, evolution, and reuse of Java software components such as JavaBeans, EJBs, JSPs, applets and servlets. A LiveWater Component Definition represents all of the information on how a component is designed and how an application is constructed from components. It provides a consistent framework for:

• Working with any component
• Working with any part of the application
• Developing, extending, and maintaining components and their characteristics

It's complete, because all design-time information provided to the tool is stored in the Component Definition. In LiveWater, all functional parts of an application are Component Definitions.

The LiveWater Component Definition generates a standard Java .class structure. LiveWater components feature an expanded set of design-time information that includes the following:

• Identity - All components are part of an inheritance tree and each component has its own unique identity
• State - All LiveWater components have designable properties. These properties and their values (which can be thought of as data types and names) are inherited. Derived components can change the values of existing properties and also add their own properties as well.
• Behaviors - Developers can implement the manner in which a property is accessed, the action that occurs for a specific event, the methods of a Java interface, and additional custom methods through programming, coding, and scripting.
• Containment - A LiveWater component can contain other components. For example, a "form" component could contain numerous other "control" components. A "containee" can also be a "container." These contained components support inheritance as well. Contained components can inherit from non-contained components. Also, if a container is inherited, the components it contains are inherited along with the container.

LiveWater Component Definitions:

• Maintain complete information about a component, including the methods it has and the interfaces it implements.
• Produce software classes compatible with the JVM.
• Support inheritance through containment.
• Self-document. Each trait in a LiveWater Component Definition maintains its own documentation in a fashion similar to javadoc.
• Support organization by inheritance.

LiveWater Component Definitions offer several distinct advantages, they:

• Eliminate the need to program, except when you want to provide your own logic.
• Automatically update inherited component definitions so that all attributes are inherited. In the Java language, only method declarations and interfaces are inherited. A LiveWater Component Definition provides additional inheritable data such as state, containment, and documentation.
• Automatically adjust inherited components to resolve conflicting inheritance information.
• Provide a data structure explicitly for use with visual design tools; the structure persists as a delta - the difference between the inherited definition and the current definition.
• Provide an active data structure that's accessible by invoking the functionality of the component definition and related classes.

Design changes to Component Definitions are always stored as deltas. That is, they are stored as the difference between what was newly designed/changed and what existed previously. So, when a developer customizes or localizes a component, he's actually saving only the customization work. Those deltas are applied to the latest base component. When the base component changes, the localization or customization work is automatically applied.

LiveWater Component Management
LiveWater Component Management features bring a new level of value to Java 2 developers. LiveWater integrates core Java components, as well as LiveWater extended components to support their reuse and extension into new applications. In a world where applications are assembled components, a tightly integrated, component-savvy management tool becomes an indispensable element of successful Java development and an integral resource for a successful development team. LiveWater Component Management is an application for the development team in the same way a bill of materials application assists manufacturing operations. The important functionality delivered through component management to the team is:

• Basic component tracking - Tracking where and how components are used and the relationships to other components they use as well.
• Impact analysis - If a component is changed or the component it is inherited from has some new functionality, LiveWater enables the development team to determine what applications will be affected.
• Versioning - This enables the development team to track stages of development, customize versions, archive completed work, and retrieve it successfully.

Component Packaging and Deployment
The LiveWater Component Design Center provides a robust set of deployment and packaging capabilities. From a single extensible wizard-based interface, LiveWater enables automatic production of any type of deployment package - .jar, .ear, .war - with manifests and directory trees containing files. Any type of file can be deployed, including class, image, and property files. The Component packager provides fully customizable deployment behavior, enabling the developer to change default behavior component-by-component. Default behavior ensures that classes generated directly by the component in question are properly deployed, and all components and other resources that it depends on are deployed in the same container or are represented in other containers specified for runtime availability. The tool provides capabilities to handle applications that load components and classes dynamically. Also, new deployments can easily be implemented when enhancements or upgrades are made to the deployed components, saving the development team enormous time and energy.

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For more information, visit LiveWater's web site at www.livewater.com. Or, you can email us at info@livewater.com.

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