Apple WebObjects 3.5 - Manual (Page 11)

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WebObjects is an object-oriented environment for developing and
deploying World Wide Web applications. A WebObjects application runs on
a server machine, receives requests from a user’s web browser on a client
machine, dynamically generates the appropriate HTML page in response
to those requests, and returns that page to the user. WebObjects provides
you with a web application server, prebuilt application components, and a
suite of tools for rapid development of World Wide Web applications.
WebObjects is flexible enough to suit the needs of any web programmer.
You can, for instance, write code using one of three programming languages:
Java, Objective-C, or WebScript. You can write simple WebObjects
applications in a matter of minutes. And if your programming task is more
complex, WebObjects still makes it as easy as possible by performing
common web application tasks automatically and by allowing you to reuse
objects you’ve written for other applications.
About This Book
This book describes concepts that you’ll need to know when writing a
WebObjects application. Programmers of all skill levels will find all or part
of the information in this book useful. To help you find what you are looking
for, this book is organized into three parts:
• Part 1, “WebObjects Essentials,” is for programmers who are new to
WebObjects.
Part 1 covers basic concepts that are required knowledge for even the
simplest of WebObjects programs. It describes what a WebObjects
application is and what pieces a WebObjects application contains. It
describes how to debug applications and provides a checklist of hard-
to-find errors. The final chapter in Part 1, “WebObjects Viewed
Through Its Classes,” provides an in-depth description of the classes
used in all WebObjects applications and explains how those classes
process HTTP requests.
• Part 2, “Special Tasks,” is for intermediate-to-advanced WebObjects
programmers.
Part 2 provides information that you can ignore until you understand
the basic WebObjects concepts explained in Part 1. It describes how
you can design components for reuse inside of other components, how
a WebObjects application manages and stores state, how to create