Two new articles are out bolstering the documentation on using JSR-170, the Java Content Repository API. The first on TheServerSide is a practitioner's perspective which has an informative FAQ and the second on onjava.com is an in-depth look at versioning and observation using JackRabbit.
TheServerSide's article, co-written by InfoQ's Chief Architect Alexandru Popescu, gives a good introduction to the JCR and how to get up and running with JackRabbit, the reference implementation available from Jakarta. While there are other tutorials available on getting started, the value in this one is the frequently asked questions section which answers common questions that arise where most tutorials end. The questions range from when to use the JCR as opposed to a filesystem or database, to a discussion of the pros and cons of using a single workspace or multiple ones.
OnJava has a new article that goes into depth on how to use two of the optional features defined in the JSR, versioning and observation. Versioning, in the context of JCR, is the ability to save the state of a node so that you can recall earlier states. Observation allows you to monitor the repository and take action when changes are made. This article describes how both are used, and is a follow-up to one mentioned in an earlier InfoQ post.
