Toplink as OR-Mapper for ADF BC?

Question

Hi,
I just had a look at Steve Muench's PPTs from Croatia OUG, especially at the ppt "jdev 10.1.3 new features": (http://radio.weblogs.com/0118231/2005/10/21.html#a614).
On slide 47/57 there is a slightly modified new picture of the adf 10.1.3 architecture.
Most interesting change: now there is a new layer called "toplink data services", suggesting that also ADF BC persistence is done via toplink.
Could someone please point out, if that's a vision or concrete feature?
Thanks!
Torsten

Answer 1

I borrowed that slide from a marketing presentation that had tried to simplify the picture a bit. I've replaced it now with one that is more technically accurate for the 10.1.3 release timeframe with regard to the ADF layers. Toplink does feature a number of different backend-technology solutions as pictured in the original slide. It's just that showing that on the same slide as the various supported ADF data control options turned to require four-dimensional graphics, so they went for the simplified picture. You can read more on the idea of a toplink data services layer in this JDJ interview with Dennis Leung: http://java.sys-con.com/read/47361.htm
As is has always done, ADF Business Components inherit their own high-performance, relationally-focused query and persistence functionality from the framework base classes.
For the future, we are researching the ability to leverage the POJO persistence standard in JSR 220, implemented by toplink as part of their EJB3 work, to persist the ADF BC Entity POJO objects, too. This would give ADF BC users new mapping options over the default ones we already provide -- which in practice turn out to be what you mostly use in practice, but more flexibility would still be nice. Last I checked, the standard only supported persisting a POJO class which extended from another mapped POJO, and not from some arbitrary framework base class, so unless they've recently relaxed that restriction, anyone using a framework base class to add globally useful application-building functionality to their persistent POJO's won't yet be able to persist them with the EJB3 spec just yet. This of course includes an ADF Entity Object class, since it inherits functionality from a base EntityImpl framework class.