Using Spring Pitchfork to have Java EE compliant code that runs in non-Java EE container

Question

I am facing the decision to abandon Java EE 5 container to use web container instead (with Spring). According to Interface21 Spring Pitchfork allows elements of the Java EE programming model to be used in Spring. Thus, I get a subset of Java EE annotations inside of Spring container. Since I prefer to maintain compatibility with Java EE this looks as attractive option to me. What is your experience with Pitchfork and what did you accomplish by using it?

Answer 1

No experience with Pitchfork, but lots with Spring. Foregoing EJBs hasn't been a problem. POJOs have been more than adequate.

Two other alternatives to consider:

You can use OpenEJB with Tomcat if you need EJBs, want to stick with Tomcat, and don't want to switch to a purchased or open source Java EE app server.

You can try Spring dm Server with OSGi. Eat the shell and the egg - go all the way.

Answer 2

I use pitchfork for unit testing EJB3 and JPA components outside of the container and it works really well. I can wire up everything I need including a transaction manager, a 2nd level caching provider, etc.