Where does WebLogic fit with/beside our custom web-server?

Question

Hi,
I'm just getting started with the WebLogic Application Server and wondering
what it can do for our setup, which looks like the following:
Our web server has a plug-in which parses each html file requested, and
if it contains any of our "custom" tags, passes it on to another "engine".
This "engine" uses our own database, and object server to make queries,
and turn the custom tags into standard HTML. Some custom-tags include
custom links to other "extended" pages, which the "web server extension"
converts to normal HTML links to the custom pages, which will of course
be caught in turn by the intermediary parser when navigated to.
There are probably ways we can stream-line and minimize the steps required
to assemble the standard HTML. However, if anyone has some ideas,
I'm basically just wondering how WebLogic can help improve our architechture
and the performance, with minimal changes at first. Since we do so much
page assembly by parsing the custom tags, I have difficulty seeing how
WebLogic could do caching. The HTML that a custom tag "expands" to
may be state dependent on the underlying database/object server!
Any comments/ideas much appreciated.
Thanks,
Andy

Answer 1

If you need an extra "ZAP" to get people to return,
your site is probably lacking good content. People
won't go to your site just for your fancy applets and
flash animations, you need to have content. Why do so
many people use Google instead of Yahoo? Because
Google's homepage loads faster without all the ads and
other crap that you get on other search sites. Also,
because google performs searches faster than any other
site. Basically you need good content and good
service without distractions.I get the 'content is king' bit although I tend to disagree with the effect that multimedia has on users. I have a MSc by research which looked at the effects of animation on users of e-commerce sites. It does have a positive effect (it did with my results anyway) - hence I would like to build more multimedia into the web site (under construction).
A combination of fast download, intuitive navigation and clear layout can improve usability.
I disagree with the Jakob Nielsen school of thought i.e. text-only web sites with no graphics are the ultimate. He is a usability expert but usability per se does not improve web site stickiness. I digress.
I want to do the server side stuff mentioned above - it is not a question of just pointing at files on the server...if it were that easy, I would not be posting and would hook all my pages to a tight back-end. The much higher wages of web developers compared with web designers should highlight this skill difference.
Also, not many web sites generate dynamic web pages completely differently to each individual user. Broadband (DSL) will bury the text-only 14.4 kbs modem type site (a disgusting remnant of 1995 which was severly restricted due to low modem speeds).