JSP/Servlet | Preparing for Google App Engine Development | Using Server-Side Java
As the Web has evolved and more interesting services have appeared, more people have started thinking, “I want to build a Web application myself.” Unlike a simple Web page, if you want to create an interesting or useful service, you inevitably need server-side development.
Many languages can now be used for server-side development. There are scripting languages such as Perl, PHP, Ruby, and Python, but when development reaches a certain scale, Java still stands out. Java is also used in many other fields, so many people probably think, “Looking ahead, Java is still the right choice.”
It is fine to decide on Java server development for various reasons, but where can you actually use server-side Java? In reality, not many rental servers support Java. Perl and PHP are integrated into Web servers and used there, but Java requires a dedicated Java server to be set up and operated, so rental servers do not easily support it. Even if they do support it, the cost is higher than for other languages.
Even if you want to use Java, there are very few easy-to-use rental server environments that support it. Therefore, at an individual level, server-side Java is not easy to use.
In that situation, a savior appeared for people who wanted to develop servers with Java. That was Google App Engine (GAE).
Google App Engine is a cloud service provided by Google. It is a so-called PaaS (Platform as a Service), and you can start for free by creating applications that use features such as Google’s Bigtable and Google accounts.
This was probably the first server-side Java environment that anyone could use for free. Without detailed server-side configuration, you could develop and deploy with tools provided by Google and create a Web application as-is. It is no exaggeration to say that there had not been such an easy-to-use server-side Java environment before.
If you want to try server-side Java, GAE can be considered a very suitable environment. Since such a good environment can be used for free, let’s use it to start server-side Java.
Preparation Before Starting
What is needed to start server-side Java with GAE? The required items are summarized below.
JDK
This is the Java development environment. It is currently distributed from the Oracle site, which owns Java.
Eclipse
This is a Java development tool. There are many development tools, but if you use GAE, you should use Eclipse. It is also distributed for free from the Eclipse Foundation site, its developer.
SDK/Plugin
Prepare the GAE for Java SDK, which is like a development kit, and plugins that add GAE/Java development features to Eclipse. These can be installed after starting Eclipse.
Google and GAE Accounts
In addition to software, you need a Google account and a GAE account. Because you will use GAE, these must be available.
Basic Knowledge of Java SE
The other required item is knowledge of Java SE. From here on, server-side Java will be explained on the assumption that you already know the basics of Java. If you do not yet know Java basics, first learn the fundamentals of Java.