Alexis Hassler (@alexishassler) is a software developer, specialized in Java and Java EE. He is using JBoss since version 2.0, more than twelve years ago. His business is to code for other companies or help them to improve the way they develop and deploy Java applications. He is co-leader of LyonJUG and helps to organize Mix-IT, an annual conference in Lyon.

He recently concluded a WildFly administration course. Here is a brief Q&A with him:

Q. You recently concluded a 4-day WildFly administration course. Tell us more about that.
A. This course will help you understand the operation, configuration principles of WildFly. The core of the course is 3 days long. It deals with installation, deployment, administration tools, security and tuning. The forth day is on clustering and is optional. The recently concluded session was the first one and was conducted on-site in Brussels.

Q. Who is this course targeted for ?
A.  The course is designed for application server administrators. But it is useful for developers and software architects too. In fact, it is useful for anybody who have to work with WildFly.

Q. Where can users register for this course ?
A. The schedule of the course is on my company web site : http://www.sewatech.fr/formation-wildfly.html. Registration can be done by e-mail : .

Q. How much of this course would be relevant for JBoss EAP users/customers ?
A. JBoss EAP 6 is based on JBoss AS 7, but a lot of administration features of the latest EAP has been added in WildFly 8. So if you have EAP 6.2 or 6.3, this course will match ~ 80%. If you have an older EAP, a JBoss AS 7 course would be better (http://www.sewatech.fr/formation-jboss-7.html). JBoss EAP users is not the main target of this course.  RedHat has some great courses on JBoss Middleware Development and JBoss Middleware Administration.

Q. How is your experience with JBoss / WildFly management tools ?
A. Comparing with older versions of JBoss (I mean before JBoss AS 6), WildFly management tools are a huge step ahead. You can choose your tool:

• Web console
• Command line
• JMX
• HTTP API
• Java API

Jboss-cli is the most useful one. It allow an admin to automate the whole setup his application server. The HTTP API is great too, as it allow to make custom tools in any language. For example, you can build your own simplified admin console in pure JavaScript. I don’t really like the Java API because, it’s a detyped API and it doesn’t fit with a compiled-time typed language. Maybe a Groovy guy could make a nice DSL on top of it. All in one, the greatest thing is that the different tools are really consistent : same data and same logic to manipulate these data. If you learn jboss-cli, it’s really easy to understand the HTTP API.

Q. What tips would you give for users coming new to WildFly ?
A. If you know JBoss AS 7, it will be easy. WildFly 8 is just the next version. Read the changelog and everything will be fne. If you know older versions of JBoss AS, forget everything you know, and start from the beginning with a good book. If you know Tomcat, be prepared to discover the power to “fly”. And for everybody, learn the CLI tool.

Q. Which application servers developers should choose, for both development and deployment ?
A. It mainly depends on what you want to do. Tomcat can be great too, because it’s really simple. When it comes with Java EE, TomEE is a very nice application server but lacks of administration tools. For Glassfish, we will see with the next versions if the current quality is maintained or if it comes back to a simple RI software. So, OK, WildFly is my favorite choice : great module system, great admin tools and great community.

Q. What resources do you generally refer to when looking for help on WildFly ?
A. For me, the main resource are the official documentation (https://docs.jboss.org/author/display/WFLY8/) and Francesco Marchioni’s blog (http://www.mastertheboss.com/). For a beginner, Francesco’s book WildFly 8, administration guide would be easier. The last resource I would recommend is the WildFly section on my wiki (http://jtips.info/index.php?title=Cat%C3%A9gorie:WildFly), but it’s in French.