17th November 1997

From now on synchronous (on-line) DTS transactions may be performed from Java applets and applications. A sophisticated Java class library (a Java package) has been released to provide a high level of abstraction of DTS messages. The object-oriented approach hides all low-level details of DTS message header construction and allows extremely easy usage of remote DTS transactions from Java.

The DTSJAVA package can directly communicate with a native DTS system. This is especially useful for Java-based WWW applets, which can now use the DTS call interface for communication with operative systems. For example, a Java applet executed on a client WWW browser can easily retrieve data from operative database systems via DTS and display it appropriately in its own user interface.

According to the Java standards, DTSJAVA class library is fully platform-independent. The necessary class files are loaded into the client browser at the time the applet is invoked and a native DTS transaction communication takes place between the browser and the WWW server DTS system. Any remote DTS system can be made reachable via DTS transparent routing to allow access to actual operative environments.

DTSJAVA uses TCP/IP communication protocol and requires a TCP/IP capable DTS system to be installed on the server system. The class library itself has been made as lightweight as possible to allow fast loading and minimal overhead for remote browsers. DTSJAVA 1.0 is a preliminary release of the package, containing some slight restrictions to the available transaction functionality. A more comprehensive official version will be made available rather soon. DTSJAVA 1.0 can be used with both JDK 1.0.2 and 1.1 compatible environments and supporting browsers.

Further information about the Distributed Transaction System product family is available. DTSJAVA documentation is provided in a standard Java document HTML format, also on-line.