Fast CGI Vs Java Application Servers

[Irmen de Jong]

Charles Handy wrote:
> 
> How does FastCGI compare against java Apps running in java app servers 
> like TomCat, Sun One, WebLogic and WebSphere?

A (fast)CGI program compared to the actual Java program may not be
much of a difference, depending on the program of course. What is
a *huge* difference is that the Java app is running inside an
*application server*. A (J2EE) Application Server provides a
rich environment on which to base your scalable enterprise applications:
- security
- connectivity
- scalability (performance, clustering)
- maintainability / managability
- error reporting/logging
- component based (EJBs)
- database connectivity and object persistence
- transactions
- ...

All of these are standardized in some way (as part of J2EE).
In theory you can move your J2EE application to a different
environment running on a different vendor's app server without
much sweat.

You don't have any of this readily available when writing (fast)CGI
applications; you have to implement all of these yourself.

--Irmen de Jong