WebSphere Portal v6 Programming

AUDIENCE: This course is for programmers who will be developing applications for WebSphere Portal Server.
PREREQUISITES: Students should have intermediate knowledge of Java development using WebSphere Studio Application Developer. Knowledge of Servlet and JSP is strongly recommended.
DURATION: 4 days. Hands on.
OBJECTIVES: WebSphere Portal server is a way to host many web based applications in a central location. Users need to login only once and use all applications in a consistent manner. Customers and business partners can access the portal site and make use of all applications running in the portal. This training class teaches students WebSphere Portal development using JSR 168 API. It also covers Struts and JavaServer Faces based portal site development. All labs are done using Rational Application Developer (RAD) v7. Using AJAX technology with a portal site is increasingly becoming an option for developers. This class teaches an overview of AJAX and how it may be used in a WebSphere Portal web site.At the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Install and use the latest Portal Toolkit
- Understand the motivation behind portals.
- Understand the JSR 168 programming model.
- Use the Rational Application Developer (RAD) v7 based Portal ToolKit to build portal applications.
- Develop portlets using Struts and JavaServer Faces (JSF).
- Use AJAX in a portlet.
COURSE CONTENT: Introduction to the WebSphere Portal Server
What is a Portal
An Example of A WebSphere Portal Site
Benefits of Portal Sites
General Portal Architecture
The Major Components of Horizontal Portals
WebSphere Portal Goals
WebSphere Portal Components
WebSphere Portal Accessibility
WebSphere Portal Packaging
WebSphere Portal Requirements
A Typical Network Architecture for WebSphere Portal
WebSphere Portal Server
WebSphere Portal Server Architecture
Portal Container
Portal Engine Architecture
Page Aggregation Modules
Portlet
WebSphere Portal Built-in Portlets
Portlet Application
Portlet Mode and State
WebSphere Portlet Content Publishing (WPCP)
Portal Document Manager (PDM)
Search Engine
WebSphere Portal Information
Summary

Introduction to JSR 168 Based Portal Programming
What is JSR 168
Other API Alternatives
Relationship With J2EE
Relationship With Servlets
A Portal Site
The Portlet
Portlet Application
The portlet.xml File
Portlet Container
Summary

Portlet Development Using RAD v7
The WebSphere Family
Eclipse Platform
The WebSphere Studio Product Family
Rational Web Developer
Rational Application Developer
Key Features in RAD v7.0
Views, Perspective and Editor Areas
Basic Operations with RAD Views and Perspectives
The Java Perspective
The Debug Perspective
Navigator View
Package Explorer
Outline View
Task View
Build and Validation
Import and Export Project
Templates and Code Completion
Searching
Setup Compiler Class Path
JRE Switching
Portal Development Support
RAD 7 Installation
Portal Server v6 Installation
Configure Portal Server Runtime
Basic Steps in Development
Project Structure
Portlet Project
Create a Project Structure
Working With the Project
portlet.xml Editor
Creating a Test Server
Managing the Server
Unit Testing
Export Portlet Application

Basic Portal Programming
Design Pattern of Portlet Applications Model-View-Controller
More on MVC
The Portlet Interface
The Hello World Portlet
Portlet Lifecycle - Initialization
Portlet Lifecycle Request Handling
Two Phase Request Processing
The render Method
The PortletRequest Interface
The PortletResponse Interface
The RenderResponse Interface
PortletURL
Example
The processAction Method
The ActionRequest Interface
The ActionResponse Interface
Example
More on Render Parameter
The GenericPortlet Class
User Session Management
Example
End of Portlet Life
Portlet Configuration
Portlet Initialization Parameter
Portlet Context
Interacting With JSP
State Management
Better View State Management
Portlet Preferences
Example: Reading Preferences
Updating Portlet Preferences
Example: Updating Preference
Validating Preference Update
Example Validation

Display Generation
Techniques in View Development
JSP Custom Tags
Available Portal Custom Tags
JSR 168 Tags
The defineObjects Tag
More on defineObjects
The actionURL Tag
The param Tag
The namespace Tag
National Language Support
Dynamic Translation
Resource Bundle File
Displaying Translated Text
More on JSTL Internationalization Tags
Example of Using Resource Bundles
Static Translation
Portlet Resource Bundle
Providing Locale Specific Preference Defaults

Advanced Programming
Portlet Caching
Programmatically Control Cache
Accessing User Information
Steps to Access User Information
Access User Information From Portlet
Portlet Services
Writing a Portlet Service
Defining the Portlet Service Interface
Example - AccountService
Writing the Portlet Service Implementation
java.util.prefs.Preferences
Example - AccountServiceImpl
Registering Portlet Services
WAS Admin Console PortletServiceRegistryService
Using a Service from a Portlet
Example
Content Access Service

Credential Vault
Credential
Components of Credential Vault
Structure of the Credential Vault
Slot
Slot Scope
Credential Access Level
Single Sign-on Scenario
CredentialSlotConfig
Methods of CredentialSlotConfig
CredentialVaultService
CredentialVaultService Interface Methods
Example - Looking Up CredentialVaultService
Example Create a Slot
Saving Credential in a Slot
Credential Class
Classes that Implement the Credential Interface
Example Retrieve the Credential
PassiveCredential
UserPasswordPassiveCredential
ActiveCredential
HttpFormBasedAuthCredential
Example - Using HttpFormBasedAuthCredential

Themes and Skins
Elements of a Portal Site
Page and Label
Page/Label Hierarchy
Portal Site Navigation
URL
Theme
Screen
The Home Screen
Skin
Container
How is a Page Rendered?
Directory Structure of Themes & Skins
Creating a New Theme
Creating a New Skin
Custom JSP Tags
portal-core Tags for Rendering Portal Page Components
portal-logic:if tag for Checking Conditions
if tag for Checking Conditions
Navigating Page Hierarchy
Tags for Locating Portal Resources
Tags for Generating a Portal URL
wps Tags for Rendering portlet control icons
The Default.jsp
The Control.jsp
A Typical Layout of HTML Skins
Summary

Cooperative Portlets
Example Use Case
Distinguishing an Action
Data Source and Destination Location
Steps to Setup Cooperation
Understanding the WSDL
A Simple Source WSDL
A Simple Source JSP
A Simple Target WSDL
Processing the Message in the Target
Wiring the Source and Target
Publishing Data from a Target
Creating Cooperative Portlets in RAD

Struts and JSF Portlet Development
Introduction to Struts
Why Use Struts to Write Portlets
Struts and Portlet API Mismatch
Customizing Struts
Portal Struts Processor Class
The Struts Portlet
Struts Portlet Framework
Struts Portlet Framework Details
Generating Portlet URL
The Response Object
Action Processing
Display Rendering
Getting the Portlet Objects
Struts Logging
Creating a Struts Portlet Project
JavaServer Faces (JSF) Basics
Defining the Screen Layout
Managed Bean
Assigning the Model
HTTP Request Handling
Navigation
Advantage of JSF
Creating a JSF Portlet
Creating a JSF Portlet
Navigation State Management
Advanced: Obtaining Core Objects

Personalization
What is Personalization
Personalization
Recommendation Engine
LikeMinds Recommendation Engine
Rules Engine
Personalization Interface in Portal Server

Composite Applications
What Is A Composite Application?
What Is A Component?
Components and Applications
Benefits Of Composite Applications
Template
Composite Application Design and Use
Creating A Template
Configuring A Template
Edit The Template Layout
Creating The Application
Configuring The Application
Using The Application
Protecting Applications and Templates
Defining Roles
Roles Portlet
Assign Application Members

Using AJAX in a Portlet
What is AJAX?
A Simple Example
The Old Way
The AJAX Way
Two Key Aspects of AJAX
What are the Advantages of the AJAX Approach?
AJAX Technologies
The Basic AJAX API
Creating the XMLHttpRequest Object
The XMLHttpRequest Object Basics
Complete Example
The Timeline
Using AJAX from a Portlet
Handling AJAX Requests
Making an AJAX Request
Where to Go From Here?

Portlet Build and Deployment Process
Introduction
Overview of The Build Process
The Build Process
Installing a Portlet Web Module
How is a Portlet Web Module Installed?
Managing Applications
Managing Portlets
Adding A Portlet To A Page
Configuring A Portlet
Copying A Portlet Application
Copy A Portlet
Removing A Portlet From A Page
Uninstalling A Portlet Application

Portal Development Best Practices
Architecture Best Practices
Controller (Portlet) Guidelines
View (JSP) Guidelines
Configuration Management
Session Management
Inter Portlet Communication
Security Guidelines
Performance Tips
Performance Testing Guidelines
Summary

Web Services for Remote Portlets
Remote Portlets
WSRP
WSRP Benefits
Information Artifacts
Security Issues
WSRP Producer: Steps
WSRP Consumer: Steps