Review: Code In .Net, Run On J2EE

San Jose, Calif.-based Mainsoft's Visual MainWin For J2EE product suite can convert code from .Net to Java, enabling .Net and J2EE to work together, the CRN Test Center finds.

Visual MainWin uses MSIL binaries from C#, ASP.Net and VB.Net code compilations and cross-compiles them into Java byte code. The output Java then can be deployed to Tomcat or an application server. Therefore, runtime code is in pure Java, and source code is maintained in .Net languages.

Microsoft's grip on the presentation layer makes ASP.Net developers more desirable than JSP counterparts. ASP.Net developers are easier to find because not as much expertise is required to build presentation code. What's more, junior ASP.Net developers are profitable and can be productive in a relatively short time, due to Microsoft's simple frameworks and highly productive Visual Studio development suite.

However, in Java shops where core assets are built with EJBs, getting both technology stacks to work together isn't that simple. A typical workaround is to consume EJBs with Web services and then consume that Web service within .Net applications at the presentation tier. Combining .Net and J2EE applications makes it difficult for operations to isolate problems.

While runtime complexities alone make it unappealing to mix technologies, testing creates even more stress for developers. Two different sets of tests must be conducted, with boundaries set at the presentation layer, between ASP.Net and Web services and between Web services and EJBs. That's the only way it can be done without Visual MainWin.

Even with a Web services architecture in place, interoperability between SOAP servers can be a big issue during development because different platforms can interpret data structures differently. Since data structures are usually tightly bound to environments, developers with domain knowledge of both sides are needed to orchestrate correct solutions between different groups without encountering problems.

For instance, by exposing an ADO.Net's DataSet from a database table as a Web service, any presentation tier written in Java will break because it can't read .Net artifacts. These data-type limitations between .Net and Java can be worked out using Visual MainWin. Mainsoft provides instructions on how to serialize and deserialize data so that Java Web services can consume .Net directly.