32 Enterprise Beans

Enterprise beans are Java EE components that implement Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) technology. Enterprise beans run in the EJB container, a runtime environment within GlassFish Server (see Container Types). Although transparent to the application developer, the EJB container provides system-level services, such as transactions and security, to its enterprise beans. These services enable you to quickly build and deploy enterprise beans, which form the core of transactional Java EE applications.

The following topics are addressed here:

• What Is an Enterprise Bean?

• What Is a Session Bean?

• What Is a Message-Driven Bean?

• Accessing Enterprise Beans

• The Contents of an Enterprise Bean

• Naming Conventions for Enterprise Beans

• The Lifecycles of Enterprise Beans

• Further Information about Enterprise Beans