Next Generation Application Integration: From Simple Information to Web Services

JavaSoft not only connects to databases, it also provides RMI, a simple synchronous mechanism that allows applets to communicate with one another and invoke one another's methods as needed. For example, you can download an applet that can connect to an Enterprise JavaBean that is running on a remote Web server and use it to invoke a method that updates a database with customer information. This communication can take place in the same machine or over a network. In effect, this creates a "poor man's distributed object." RMI benefits application integration projects by sharing information with other applets and servlets scattered throughout an enterprise.