EAR (Enterprise Application aRchive) is a file format used to package Java EE applications for deployment. It's like a ZIP file on steroids, containing all the WAR, JAR, and XML configuration files needed to run an enterprise app - perfect for when you need to deploy your monolithic masterpiece to a fleet of WebSphere servers.

How to use it in a sentence

• I spent all weekend building the EAR (Enterprise Application aRchive) for our new CRM system, only to have it fail deployment because someone forgot to update the database connection string in the XML config. FML.

• The new DevOps guy keeps bragging about how he can deploy a dozen microservices in the time it takes me to build and test one EAR (Enterprise Application aRchive). I'd like to see him try to refactor our 500,000 line legacy codebase without breaking everything.

If you actually want to learn more...

• Enterprise Integration Using REST: Most internal REST APIs are one-off APIs purpose-built for a single integration point. This article discusses the constraints and flexibility you have with nonpublic APIs, and lessons learned from doing large-scale RESTful integration across multiple teams. https://martinfowler.com/articles/enterpriseREST.html

• Enterprise Application Architecture: Enterprise Application is the name given to a certain class of software systems: the data-intensive software systems on which so many businesses run. This article looks at EAA from a technology-independent view. https://martinfowler.com/bliki/EnterpriseApplication.html

• Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture: This book outlines the principal patterns for organizing domain logic, one of the most important yet often forgotten aspects of enterprise applications. https://martinfowler.com/books/eaa.html

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