Can you create a client/server app with Java?

Question

Can we create a financial application with screens that look like this http://www.cyma.com/cyma-accounting-modules/general-ledger/gl_configuration.gif using Java.

We don't want to create a ''web'' application. i.e. we want our screens to appear like the good old days client server screens.

-- Is this possible in Java?

-- Can you create a standard menu in Java client/Server?

-- Can you create a tree structure like this http://www.bissoftware.com/WEBSITE/images/GL_chartaccounts_thumb.gif in Java client/Server?

--What IDE is best suited for developing this type of Java app?

-- What are the advantages / disadvantages of building a financial app in Java c/s against building a web page based web-site financial application?

Answer 1

1) yes, 2) yes, 3) yes.



4) That depends on your development team. The developers should work with the tool they are most familiar with. That is the best tool in that situation.

Personally i use eclipse. Also i recommend not to use a drag and drop method to build the gui, it will become a mess and you are tightly coupled to the IDE.



5) Here i sense a huge ignorence about a java c/s app and a webpage based application.



They are the same. The only difference is the GUI the client side.



disadvantage of a "java c/s app" is that some organisations will block applets ( that will be your gui an applet )in the firewall or do not allow to install applets.

If you create the gui like an ordinary application , you will have to install that app on every machine, more maintenance.



a disadvantage of a "webpage app" might be that the people working with it are not used to the interface and will tell you that your applications sucks and dont want to use it.

Answer 2

The GUI is pretty easy, up and down what you are asking. In fact the screen examples shown appear to be hard-coded. Keep in mind Java works best letting itself manage the layout thereby keeping all the widgets visible, even on the various platforms.



Lots of applications get built on top of a database. You don't have to use a database, but there are several advantages with persistence across startup being built-in. You can add persistence easy enought to a disk-based datastore.



I vote for NetBeans IDE to use pure textbook code. Don't get involved with the drag-n-drop gui builders (those add a whole bunch of untouchable code).



For database, you have the built-in (Apache) Derby in the SE - standard edition of Java. The EE - enterprise edition Java -- has more libraries for server / database. Or, you can use MySQL which keeps you alive for changing your technology in the future.



Because this is financial, I would recommend you skim a book: Manning Publications, "POJOs in Action". The book covers a working example, from scratch, of a banking system. The idea is the POJO - Plain Old Java Object - that acts like a daemon which visits several transactions to avoid queing issues and/or interruptions of the daemon circuit. The book goes into tiered architecture, which is necessary when you convert real paper money into electronic credits. Your requirements look like bookkeeping instead of commerce, so you would not need the extensive moat system the book illustrates.



I do recommend Java because I have always found solutions for those add-on things that reveal themselves as needed later ons.



good luck

Answer 3

Guess it depends on your application. If the application is only run on the mobile device (no web component) then a full database is overkill for storing the scores. You wouldn't want a full database running on the mobile client. Now if you are making a web based application, then your server could certainly use a database (SQL Server if you have the appropriate license for an Internet deployment). For the text file to track the scores, depends again on how your game model is setup. If you are keeping say the top 10 scores, your file could simply be a comma delimited file with 10 lines that you update. ,, ,, ... ... ,, You would read the values when you plan to display the high scores and/or after a game completes to see if the current game beats a high score. If the current score beats one, insert at the appropriate location in the array holding the read in values and have a chunk of code that simply outputs the new high score file. Alternatively to a text file, consider a simple XML file (not sure if the phone SDKs tend to include a parser or not). ** Edit ** @Semper VI - I wouldn't be surprised if MySQL ran on Android. Probably not an ideal setup, but I'm sure someone with a bit of free time and some curiosity has ported it. ** Edit 2 ** I agree that a database in this case isn't necessary. People have done some pretty odd things though, just to prove it could be done. I did forget about HSQLDB, which probably would be better if a database was absolutely needed. I'm wondering what method Android/iPhone/WinPhone use for storing contact information. I know Android syncs up with gmail contacts, but I'm guessing they cache it local to the phone as well.

Answer 4

1> Yes. Very much possible. U can use any Look and Feel u like since they are pluggable and can be changed dynamically at runtime.



2> Oh sure.



3> Sure. We use JTree for that. Look at the link below.

http://www.downloadthat.com/macintosh/Programming/Java-Tools/JTree_screenshot.html



4> I use NetBeans.



5> Not a question of advantages / disadvantages. A question of requirements of client, what he needs.

Answer 5

1: Yes, though it'll retain the Java look and feel

2: Yes, I can.

3: Yes, this is possible.

4: I'd use Eclipse.

5: It's harder to maintain and update, and you tie yourself to a certain computing base more tightly than if you use a web based app.