Home > Consumer Reviews > WebObjects 5.2

One of WebObjects best kept secrets is the EOModeler. The EOModeler allows you to design a database, create entity relationships [including foreign keys], encapsulate business logic in WO rules and stored procedures, and then generate/update your database from the model. All of this is done from within an Apple quality GUI, and it explicity supports OpenBase, Oracle, MSSQL Server, MySQL and Sybase [but it should work with any JDBC driver or JNDI driver].

Furthermore, you can then automatically generate an entire Java client application from this model. AND, you can reverse engineer a model and application from an existing database.

Outside of that, the Apple review tells you what you need to know [aside from the fact that the WebObjects server supports load balancing and remote application server access]. This is a fantastic product. Believe the hype!

WebObjects is a framework for deploying database-driven webpages and services. While it does not have the same exposure as ColdFusion, ASP, PHP, etc etc, it is a very strong competitor. I came to it from a PHP and MySQL background, and while it took a couple of weeks to get to grips with the WebObjects outlook, it is now a total joy to work with.

The main thing about WebObjects that seperates it from the rest is the fact that it is an object-oriented system. Once you have the objects set up, you very rarely have to interact with the database at all, as the framework deals with all of the sql calls. Indeed, because of this fact, the database itself is totally removed from the logic, and so a vast range of databases can be used interchangeably: MySQL, OpenBase, Oracle, and any JDBC database. And relational databases are even easier, suprisingly enough, especially when compared to how difficult relationships are to follow with PHP.

Everyone working with any high-traffic databse-driven website should at the least check this out. I did, and now I'm a total convert. There is a free 30-day trial available at the apple website.

I understand from reading the wikipedia article on WebObjects that starting in 2005, the WebObjects development kit started being free as a part of Apple's XCode (which is free).

Since 2006, development for WebObjects is supported, using Eclipse (which is free).

I also understand that Apple deprecated the use of Cocoa and WebObjects, used together -- but you can still use pure Java for WebObject development. This is OK since Cocoa is proprietary to Apple and the Mac and Java is available for many platforms -- not just on the Mac.

As far as I understand, you don't have to spend any money to develop for WebObjects (so you don't need the product that this review is about) but I believe that to deploy web-apps developed in WebObjects that you have to have to buy the Server Version of Mac OS X (retail $499.00 to $999.00).

Mac OS X Server v10.4.7 10-Client

Mac OS X Server v10.4.7 Unlimited Client

or instead of buying Mac OS X Server, you can buy an XServe computer (which includes the Server Version of Mac OS X Server software).

WebObjects is for Enterprise software which means that it is well-suited for larger projects (i.e. for websites that get a lot of traffice).

An alternative to purchasing Apple's Server Version of the Mac OS is to have your website hosted by a web-hosting company. Be aware that enterprise solutions such as WebObjects which use server-side Java are more expensive to have hosted than technologies that are only suitable for smaller-scale operations.

Kaydell