Question

I’m a Java EE developer and we typically use Weblogic to deploy our apps. Now I’m faced with a new desktop application which requires logging, database connectivity and mail.

After some investigation I’m realizing that desktop apps are a completely new world to me and I’m not sure if I’m choosing the right libraries to support my app.

These are my questions:

1. In our Weblogic projects we used Log4j and I want to use it again in my desktop app. Is it a bad idea? Should I use a better logging framework?

2. In Weblogic we retrieve database connections with JNDI but now it seems impossible to do the same. How do I perform the same action in a desktop application so I can connect with a remote database? Is the combination c3p0 + database driver a good approach for this?

3. Is there any framework/JAR which provides all this stuff (log + ddbb + mail) as an integrated solution? Workmates told me Spring could help. I also found Warework.

Answer 1

In our Weblogic projects we used Log4j and I want to use it again in
my desktop app. Is it a bad idea? Should I use a better logging
framework?

No, it is not a bad idea and perfectly works. Personally, I’d go with java.util.logging as it does the job fairly well and it reduces your applications’ footprint (storage). Although, it’s configuration is a bit tricky.

In Weblogic we retrieve database connections with JNDI but now it
seems impossible to do the same. How do I perform the same action in a
desktop application so I can connect with a remote database? Is the
combination c3p0 + database driver a good approach for this?

You can directly connect to your database using pure java.sql JDBC API (tons of examples available in the internet), but always have to distribute the proprietary database drivers as part of your application (mySQL, Oracle, DB2, etc.). Furthermore it’s possible to directly use connection pools provided with those drivers by using their proprietary APIs (fairly easy to encapsulate). Nevertheless, there are a number of issues:

1. latency; database protocols are fairly sensitive when it comes to latency (distance between client and database server). Having a database in the UK and desktop clients in US is probably not a good idea.
2. security 1; you have to distribute database user credentials to each and every desktop client. Be aware of that.
3. security 2; your database security requirements may demand for transport security (packet encryption).
4. change management; applying non-backward compatible updates to your database requires you to update all desktop clients (believe me – it’s not fun).
5. network; depending on your environment, certain ports and/or protocols may be blocked.

Is there any framework/JAR which provides all this stuff (log + ddbb +
mail) as an integrated solution? Workmates told me Spring could help.
I also found Warework.

Logging and database access are not an issue and work fairly well without any third-party framework. Of course, those frameworks might provide value regarding other aspects (abstraction, DI, JDBC abstraction, etc.), but this is a topic of detailed software design. Sending emails directly from a desktop application might become an issue, regardless of the framework in use. Just some things to keep in mind:

1. which SMTP relay server do you want to use?
2. in case of an enterprise environment, your IT operations teams might not allow you to use their SMTP server from each desktop (keep spam in mind).

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Conclusion: In desktop scenarios an application server is not a bad idea either. You should have your desktop application to communicate with an application server only by using e.g. JSON, XML, SOAP over HTTP/HTTPS or RMI, etc. The application should be responsible for the complex tasks like database access, transaction management, fine grained security, email, etc.