A .jar file is a special Java file that stores a set of Java classes. Java is a pure object-oriented language that provides platform independence and dynamic class loading capability. These unique capabilities allow the Analysis Server to dynamically access components and enjoy platform independence. You can write your own components using Java and automatically publish them on the Analysis Server A method is a function that operates on a component's data. All components require an execute method that controls how to run its analysis and an end method that operates when the component is terminated.
Components typically have methods for retrieving and assigning data values as well.
An object is an instance of a component. The Analysis Server allows users to run several objects of the same component on one server. For example, say a component that computes the area of a circle exists on an Analysis Server. A user who wants to compute the area of two circles can either start one object and run it twice, or start two objects and run each with a different input radius. A property is a characteristic of a component.