Apache Geronimo 2.2: intermediate step with a view to the future

Following the recent release of the new Enterprise Java specification, the latest major release of the Apache Geronimo application server, version 2.2, is now available. Released almost 19 months after its predecessor, the new product offers bug fixes and current library versions as well as a number of minor functional improvements. Complying to many of the new standards, Geronimo 2.2 is an intermediate step on the way to full Java EE version 6.0 certification and support planned for Geronimo 3.0.

One of the most important improvements is the provision of custom Geronimo implementations, called assemblies, which make use of the profiles implemented with Java EE 6.0. Developers also focused on providing a faster starting, a more compact server and on improving the product's cluster support via WADI. A GShell with extended functionality adds further tool support, and there are new plug-ins for OpenJPA 2.0 and the ActiveMQ administration console.

The newly integrated current versions of Dojo 1.4, CXF 2.1, Axis2 1.5, OpenEJB 3.1, Derby 10.5, Jetty 7, Camel 2.0 and ActiveMQ 5.3 are also likely to be major assets. While the configuration of Tomcat has been modified in the current version, migrating from Tomcat to Geronimo is now probably even easier than it was before. An important change is the switch from the commons-logging library to the slf4j library, which resolves various issues with different versions of logging products. Log4J continues to be used in the standard implementation.

By complying to state-of-the-art standards (JAX-B 2.1, JAX-WS 2.1, JAX-RS 0.8, JPA 2.0 and parts of EJB 3.1) Geronimo 2.2 makes most of the features Java EE version 6.0 available. However, full certification and support is only planned for the next version, Geronimo 3.0, which is scheduled for release during 2010 and is also planned to provide OSGi support based on Apache Karaf or Felix.

(Frank Pientka)

Further information on planned developments in the Geronimo wiki can be found at:

• Apache Geronimo Release Roadmaps
• Geronimo 2.2 Release Status
• Geronimo 3.0 Release Roadmap
• Java EE 6 Releases
• Road map for JEE6 Web Profile

(trk)