Chapter 16. Batch applications and enterprise integration
This chapter covers
- Quick introduction to batch applications and Spring Batch
- Using batch applications in enterprise integration
- Combining the functionality of Spring Integration and Spring Batch
An important niche in the landscape of software solutions is occupied by batch processes—applications that run independently with no user interaction. Akin to living fossils, they’re a glimpse into the history of computing. At the beginning of the computing era, collecting data and feeding it to programs that ran on mainframes was the only efficient option. Access to the actual system, let alone the idea of a user interface, was restricted to a limited number of operators.
Technology has evolved since then, and progress in user interface and communications technology has led to their gradual replacement with more interactive solutions. But, resorting again to an analogy with evolutionary biology, the secret of the survival of batch applications is the specific set of traits that ensured that they remain a superior solution in specific use cases.
By the end of this chapter, you’ll be familiar with the most significant features of batch applications, recognizing the main differences between them and other paradigms, such as online transaction processing. In the context of this book, batch applications are important for their role in enterprise integration.