Get information about the capabilities, features and planned
future enhancements for WebAccel.
How does WebAccel handle database stored procedures?
Are any parts of the framework specific to one platform?
Will WebAccel run on Tomcat?
Can WebAccel be used with Adobe® Acrobat (5.0) forms?
What localization support does WebAccel provide?
How does WebAccel provide scalability, and how does it work with Load Balancing servers?
How is WebAccel supported for developers in different countries?
Can WebAccel be easily customized or extended?
Can WebAccel be used without customization?
How does WebAccel handle database stored procedures?
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Stored procedure support for DataSets will be added to the next release of WebAccel. Your stored procedure must contain functions for Query, Insert, Update and Delete:
- The WebAccel DataSet Builder will run the Query function, which is used to determine the result columns and their types (similar to the way WebAccel currently uses an SQL SELECT).
- The Insert, Update, and Delete functions will require matching stored procedure parameters with result column definitions. With this setup, WebAccel will automatically handle these functions as it currently handles SQL SELECT statements.
- Network performance will not be as good for UPDATE logic, because a WebAccel dynamic UPDATE statement only includes modified columns.
- To manage concurrency, the stored procedure must use all columns in the WHERE clause of the UPDATE statement. This means extra work for the stored procedure developer and a higher likelihood of user conflicts, as compared with the dynamic SQL generated by WebAccel.
Are any parts of the framework specific to one platform, such as Windows NT® or Unix®, or can we run the framework on anything that runs the app server?
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The only items that are platform-specific are the install process and some of the Builder interfaces to the operating system, but WebAccel supports Windows NT, Windows®2000, Unix, and Linux® for all of these features. We have seen some limitations on certain Unix variants, such as incomplete support for the 'cp' command, but most implementations have no problems.
Will WebAccel run on Tomcat?
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The WebAccel runtime engine will work with any Java® Server Pages 1.1 compliant server, including Tomcat. The installation process and some minor portions of the Application Builder, such as the ability to automatically configure a WebAccel application, are server-specific, and will be addressed in a future release. Therefore, with a manual install, the product can currently be used with Tomcat or other servers, and we plan to completely support Tomcat and other application servers as demands dictate.
Can WebAccel be used with Adobe Acrobat (5.0) forms instead of 'simple' HTML forms?
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While this area requires more research, Adobe states that Acrobat forms can submit parameters in an XML format. Based on proper field name conventions, a customized WebAccel Module class could easily be developed and used to parse the incoming XML and update the appropriate fields in the WebAccel XmlDataStore. We would also need to understand how to feed data to an Acrobat form, but it is likely that a similar method could be used for output.
What localization support does WebAccel provide?
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WebAccel does not offer any specific localization support, but it would be easy to add, either as a part of the core product or through a simple extension class. There are various methods available for localization of user form parameters, such as the STRUTS method (putting localization labels in .properties files), or using a database table for translated screen information. You can also use the WebAccel client-side extension functionality to handle field formats by adding localized formats for common field types.
How does WebAccel provide scalability, and how does it work with Load Balancing servers?
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The current release (2.0) of WebAccel performs its work in the HTTP Session layer. This is a very convenient method for supporting the framework, and it performs very well, up to the limits of the server on which it is installed. For example, when running IBM® WebSphere® on a single-processor Intel® server (1GZ processor with 2GB RAM), we have been able to achieve excellent support for 50 to 150 concurrent users, depending on the application specific load.
To expand beyond this level, several options are available:
- Place the database server on a separate, clustered environment, to increase database throughput and reduce the load on the Web application server.
- Increase the capacity of the Web application server with additional CPUs and processors.
- Use multiple Web application servers, each devoted to a specific set of users, with all Web application servers accessing the same database server. Because WebAccel offloads much of the work of the database server, this is a very scalable option, and yields excellent performance results. There is no requirement for enabling cross-server communications in the current WebAccel environment, because each user's memory area operates independently from all others.
- The preceding multiple Web application server option might not work for all sites because there might be a requirement for all users to use a single URL. For example, this option might not work for a heavily used Internet application. To handle this scenario, we are planning a future release of WebAccel that works with standard Load Balancing servers, which direct each request to the least busy or next available Web application server. In some Load Balancing scenarios, the Load Balancing server can redirect the same end-user session to the same Web application server for each request. This is the ideal solution, and is supported by WebAccel in its current release.
For Load Balance schemes that send each request to the next available server, i.e., there is no way to predict which Web server will receive a given user's request, the plan is to port the WebAccel components into stateful EJB Session Beans and enable contiguous access across calls. However, this scenario will only perform as well as the clustered EJB server is capable. Therefore, the preceding option is preferable and much more scalable.
How is WebAccel supported for developers in different countries?
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Compuflex offers telephone or on-line product support to US users during East and West Coast operating hours. We provide email support to international users in time zones not covered by our support hours. In addition, we offer on-site consulting and training to domestic and international customers.
In order to expand out support services, we are looking for partners in other continents. Please contact us at:
if you are interested in becoming a support partner.
Can WebAccel be easily customized or extended?
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WebAccel is a highly extensible environment, and source code is provided to all customers. In fact, most of our customers use WebAccel as the starting point for their own framework. Supporting this is the fact that all WebAccel Java classes are implemented as Java Interfaces, which allows virtually any level of the product to be replaced by components developed by our customers, or even by our own development teams. Our best product enhancements often start out as customizations or extensions created by customers or for customers, which we implement generically in the core product.
Some common uses for customization are:
- Adding Server-side Extension classes for customized business logic. This is the most common extension to the product, and is actually a part of the day-to-day use of the product.
- Adding Client-side Extension classes, which allow developers to customize and refine the user interface.
- Developing a new Application Pattern. This involves building Templates to support a customized user interface and the associated presentation logic.
- Adding a new XmlDataSource to allow the WebAccel XmlDataStore to communicate with proprietary, in-house data sources.
- Customizing the WebAccel Builders to support new types of XmlDataSets and WebAccel Modules.
- Replacing architecture components for specialized processing.
Can WebAccel be used without customization?
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Absolutely. The product can be used "as-is" for very powerful and fast results, particularly when using one of the WebAccel Application Patterns, which provide a pre-defined user interface and the associated presentation logic. Therefore, if your application is running natively on a standard relational database with JDBC support, you can use WebAccel immediately for productive development purposes.
In most cases, after customers become familiar with our pre-defined Application Patterns, the first customization step is developing a new Application Pattern that gives the application a unique "look-and-feel" tailored to the customer.
WebAccel is a registered trademark of Quovadx, Inc. Windows and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Java and all Java-based trademarks are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both. IBM and WebSphere are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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