Implementation of an enterprise-level groupware system based on J2EE platform and WebDAV protocol

According to our definition, the enterprise-level groupware system (EGS) is the Web-based groupware that focuses specifically on addressing some crucial cooperation requirements put forward by Business-to-Business and Business-to Consumer electronic commerce. In this paper, we propose a new approach for constructing EGSs, in which a latest IETF specification: WebDAV is adopted in order to fully unlease the Web's potential in supporting cooperation activities, and at the same time, an enterprise-level platform: J2EE is adopted in order to ensure some enterprise-level features of the system, e.g., scalability, availability, extensibility and security. We then introduce a prototype EGS implementation called "Cooperative Workbench", which is developed in our institute. This prototype has partly proven the advantages of this new approach and its promising application prospects in the future EGSs.