Perst Embedded Database Integrated With Jease Content Management Framework, Adding Persistence to POJO-Based Web Applications

January 5, 2010 — Jease (www.jease.org), a content management framework based on the best in open source Java technologies, has added support for the Perst™ object-oriented, open source embedded database system from McObject®. When used with Jease, Perst becomes the persistence engine for highly customized, content- and database-driven Web applications that leverage the productivity and efficiency of working with “plain old Java objects” (POJOs).

Jease (the name combines “Java” and “ease”) provides building blocks for developers with even a little Java experience to assemble Web applications tailored to specific needs. The goal of Jease is to offer a flexible content management framework rather than a full-blown content management system, said Jease founder and project leader Maik Jablonski.

“Jease makes it very easy to create custom content structures -- such as FAQs or pages for a particular Web site section-- within minutes. The user creates a POJO and ‘programmatically declares’ that POJO's appropriate content editor (the form used to create and edit data for the structure). Just a few lines of code and you're done,” Jablonski said. “Jease handles behind-the-scenes considerations like persistence (thanks to the object-oriented database), a full Ajax-driven user-interface with drag/drop, and high-performance full-text-search.”

To accomplish this, Jease is built on top of some of the most powerful and widely used open source technologies in the Java community:

Object-oriented database technology to provide persistence.
Lucene as high performance full-text indexing and search technology.
ZK as a component- & event-driven Ajax-based Web framework.

Perst features such as automatic schema evolution, support for “foreign objects” (Java classes without any dependency on the database), and seamless handling of object arrays make the embedded database a natural fit for Jease, Jablonski said. “Perst hides all the complexity from the application developer when working with a very complex object-graph like the node-hierarchy used in Jease,” he said. “Perst worked right out of the box, which is very impressive. It seems to be one of the most advanced open source, object-oriented databases in the Java world.”

Jablonski added that he hopes working with Jease will lead more developers to recognize the benefits of object-oriented database systems. “Productivity and efficiency are what count. When working on a complex domain, you really want to use a domain model based on the principles of object-orientation. That’s why object-relational-mapping is a must for complex projects involving relational databases. But mapping relational tables to objects comes with additional costs, and seems overall a little bit antiquated.”

“Using relational technology with an object-relational mapping makes me less productive as a developer: I need to maintain the POJO, the mapping and the database schema. When using an object database like Perst I just have to maintain the POJO, the database take cares of all the rest,” he said.

“Using relational technology with an object-relational mapping also makes my applications less efficient because of the costs of the additional (and complex) mapping layer. Additionally, nested hierarchies with node-based inheritance (like the model used in Jease) are nearly a non-starter for relational technology. I don't want to know how many complex joins are needed for even the simplest query,” Jablonski said.

Perst and Perst Lite are part of McObject’s family of powerful small footprint, high performance embedded database software products. The eXtremeDB™ in-memory embedded database from McObject is used widely in devices including MP3 players, industrial automation solutions, digital TVs, telecom/network communications equipment and military/aerospace technology. Perst is available for Java and .NET, including Java ME and .NET Compact Framework. CA’s Wily Technology credits Perst with delivering a shortened development cycle and a ten-fold performance improvement within its real-time Java application.

About McObject

Founded by embedded database and real-time systems experts, McObject offers proven data management technology that makes applications and devices smarter, more reliable and more cost-effective to develop and maintain. McObject counts among its customers industry leaders such as Chrysler, Maximizer Software, Siemens, Phillips, EADS, JVC, Tyco Thermal Controls, F5 Networks, DIRECTV, CA, Motorola and Boeing. McObject, based in Issaquah, WA, is committed to providing innovative technology and first-rate services to customers and partners. The company can be reached at +1-425-888-8505, or visit www.mcobject.com.

McObject and eXtremeDB are trademarks or registered trademarks of McObject LLC. All other company or product names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.