Developing? Adastra is – and we can share our success with you.

Java is an object-oriented programming language that is robust, secure and portable. This portability operates thanks to a virtual runtime environment. The application code uses the first pass of the compiler to translate an intermediate representation called Java bytecode which is essentially the same for all platforms. This is the instruction set for the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) which is the heart of Java platforms and is different for each HW platform as the JVM interprets the Java bytecode on the target hardware platform and operating system regardless of computer architecture.

The basic components of the Java platform are:

Java SE (Standard Edition) - The SE Runtime environment defines an assortment of Application programming interfaces and technologies designed especially for end-users of client applications for desktop computers.

Java EE (Enterprise Edition) – Java EE extends the Java SE platform and develops and runs large enterprise software and applications. The components of the platform are the cornerstones of the technology used in web application development (Java Servlets, JavaServer Pages, JavaServer Faces) for the development of shared business logic (Enterprise Java Beans, Spring), ORM technologies (Java Persistence API, Hibernate) to integrate enterprise applications (Java Messaging Service, Java Web Services) and much more.

Java ME and Java Card are platforms used to develop applications for desktop and mobile devices (such as mobile phones, microcontrollers, sensors, PDAs, printers, etc.) as well as smart cards with embedded integrated circuits.

The main advantages of Java technology:

1. Portability

Java is a neutral architecture language which allows you to develop and run applications on  diverse target platforms no matter which hardware and operating system you use. Moreover, the OpenJDK community and Java ecosystem provide tremendous support for developers writing applications in a wide range of environments.

2. High performance

Virtualization does not inhibit Java's ability to perform exceptionally well on the target platform. The platform features built-in optimization capable of running on multiprocessing environments and makes Java one of the fastest development and runtime environments.

3. Expandable platforms

As the most widely used application platform in the world, Java comes with an active developer ecosystem which assists you with a powerful selection of tools, code samples, and more. As a result, Java is the de facto language choice of universities and learning centres around the world.

No matter which application you build on MS.NET, it will have the same technological features on the hardware platform it was designed for.

The standard runtime environment for .NET applications is the Microsoft NET Framework, though these versions are chosen for specific purposes: the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework for PDA, tablets with ARM processors and mobile phones; the Microsoft .NET Micro Framework for Embedded devices; or, Mono for open-source Unix-like operating systems which are known as Managed Code.

In addition, translations of applications to a machine code from a specific processor (known as Unmanaged Code) can be done.

The Microsoft .NET Framework consists of several basic layers:

• CLR (Common Language Runtime) separates the application code from the operating system. It is the lowest level of the stack-based system and lets you port applications to various hardware platforms. This virtual machine runs metalanguage MSIL (Microsoft Intermediate Language) commands and provides the additional service of memory management, managed code or uniform managed systems (the name is a derivative of Managed code). With CLR it is possible to program applications in a great collection of programming languages (Cross-language interoperability) that collaborate easily.
• BCL (Basic Class Library) is the basic library of classes of the programming language and the standard for the runtime library. It includes:
  • A console application (executables runnable from the command line).
  • A WinForms application (known as a thick client), where applications can be executed on the local computer.
  • Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) applications.
  • An ASP.NET WebForms application (known as a thin client), where  applications can be executed on a web browser.
  • Web services
  • Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) services
  • Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) applications for configuring and managing workflows.
  • Windows Sync Framework for data synchronization
  • Windows CardSpace for the implementation of standard Information Cards.
  • Entity Framework and LINQ allow you to use an object-oriented approach when working with structured data sources, such as relational databases, XML, file systems etc..
  • A base class platform for working with sources (databases, file systems, Windows Registry databases, computer networks, display units, etc.).

• Programming languages -  the most popular languages for business applications are C #, Visual Basic NET or Delphi. For critical applications (e.g. timing or memory) the Managed C ++ is used. Other possible programming languages include F #, J #, IronPython, Boo, etc. The source code of any of these languages is translated by a compiler into the MSIL meta-language and executed on the target machine in the CLR.
• Virtually every high-level programming language , for which a compiler to MSIL metalanguage exists (or can be developed), can be used for application development in .NET.
• The Microsoft Visual Studio, which contains the greatest number of possibilities when working with .NET code, is the integrated development environment used for .NET code. Other environments such as Delphi or Eclipse are also used. Plug-ins for other programming environments that support development in .NET languages also exist.

Technology benefits

The Microsoft .NET platform lets you develop a wide range of user-friendly applications (RAD, Rapid Application Development) at high-speed  from BI applications or applications for Microsoft Sharepoint Server to simple applications for mobile phones.

 The platform also integrates seamlessly with the Microsoft SQL Server database (on the .NET code level). This is also true for the Microsoft Windows operating system versions from Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003. Both MS SQL Server and MS Windows include support .NET as their native component. As a result, libraries of native extensions can be developed on .NET. If you are working with other platforms, such as web servers, tablets that run operating systems other than Windows Phone 8, mobile phones, desktop devices or Unix-like operating systems, simply installing the NET Framework runtime is sufficient.

A variety of extensions and programming or testing frameworks for application development in .NET exists.

.NET framework source code is accessible on the Internet for free. You can also find open source activities related to both the .NET code compiler (Roslyn) and various frameworks such as NHibernate, NBuild, NUnit, Castle, ASP.NET MVC or direct applications from the web (Codeplex).

Another attractive feature is the possibility of developing add-ins in the Visual Studio programming environment. Currently, the most widely used extension is the Visual Studio add-in manager named Nu Get.

In essence, Microsoft SharePoint is just a web portal designed to be used in an internal corporate environment. However, the possibility to use it as an extranet solution for communicating and collaborating with business partners exists as it can be used on all common platforms including PCs, tablets and mobile phones. The only thing you need for this is a web browser.

For specific work-related issues involving your business team, customized Web Parts can be created using SharePoint as it contains a wide range of predefined templates for these pages and additional templates can be added as per required.

There are dozens and dozens of components (Web Parts) which can be added within each site to extend functionality including many which are designed to handle routine jobs. Third party Web Parts can also be added or you can develop a specialized Web Part to suit your own needs (ranging from simple applications created in Javascript to intricate client-server applications built on the Microsoft .NET Framework).

As the very name „share point“ suggests, SharePoint's main advantage lies in its ability to share information.

Sharing precludes the involvement and active cooperation of all team members when creating content and all contributors can add or modify data according to their allocated rights. As SharePoint is closely integrated with MS Office applications, wonderfully simple changes can be performed using any Office software application.

This is driven by popular technologies emanating from networking user communities (including blogs, forums, articles from other users or ongoing discussions on Twitter which you can follow using hashtags) to help share knowledge across the portal. You can choose the content you prefer from SharePoint using OneDrive for Business which synchronizes with your desktop computer or tablet allowing users to select content even when offline.

Learning how to work with the basic settings of SharePoint is not difficult, though for larger implementations, we recommend preparing a good portal structure, identifying the needs of individual teams, or studying how other applications can be best integrated. Adastra will help you prepare a template of each page for these activities according to your needs. We will also oversee the installation and configuration of the portal to ensure its functionality. Our programmers are ready to help you create Web Parts to assist you in your work with applications and to help you present data from your systems.

Sharepoint can be used with the four most widely used Web browsers (MSIE, Safari, Chrome, Firefox)