Portal Technology for Dynamic User Interfaces
Explore the use of portlet technology for modular design and adaptability in user interfaces. Discover findings, demos, objectives, and future goals. Engage in an in-depth journey through the process and plan involved.
Portal Technology for Dynamic User Interfaces
E N D
Presentation Transcript
Kangaroo Software Jon Ferry Chris Helmeset Greg McGraw Jonathan Peffer Use of Portlet Technology for Dynamic Generation of User Interfaces
Outline • Introduction • Process / Plan • Accomplishments • Findings • Pitfalls • Demos • Objectives Revisited • Future Goals • Conclusion
Introduction • Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield • 450 CSRs answer 30,000 calls daily • Example: Customer Makes Claim • Membership Validation • Edit Claim • Evaluation • Pay/Deny • TIGRESS • Visual Basic 6 • Mainframe Core • Legacy Software • Need for Modular Design • Adaptability
Introduction • jTIGRESS • JAVA based solution • Modular Approach • User Interface • Objects • Heterogeneous Systems and Databases • Our Scope • Presentation Layer of jTIGRESS • Provide a Proof-of-Concept of Portal Technology • IBM WebSphere Software • Findings Feed into New Architecture
Process / Plan • Our Approach • 2 Phases of Technology Feasibility Exploration • Phase 1 Objectives • Defined at the beginning of Winter quarter • Phase 2 Objectives • To be defined by the beginning of Spring quarter
Process / Plan • Phase 1 Objectives • Is portal technology a feasible solution? • Complexity • Inter-portlet communication • User based roles (permissions) • Compatibility with existing databases • LDAP • Performance • Efficiency • Knowledge • Tool Support • Procedures • Learning Curve
Process / Plan • Phase 1 (Winter Quarter) Activities • WebSphere Software • Installation • Configuration • Portlet Development • Research (Proof-of-Concept) • Prototype development • TIGRESS Research • Source inspection
Process / Plan • Roles • Team / Project Manager – Jon Ferry • Plan, Track, and Manage Activities • Interface with Client • Technical Manager – Greg McGraw • Configuration and Support Specialist • Research Documentation Manager – Jonathan Peffer • Manage Main Deliverable • Ensure Cohesiveness • Development Manager – Chris Helmeset • Ensure High Quality Designs and Applications
Process / Plan • Excellus Contacts • Mr. Mike Cardillo • Head, Architecture Group • Mr. Robert D’Alimonte • Architect • Project Contact • Dr. Jeff Lasky • Excellus Liaison • Project Contact • Faculty Advisors • Dr. Swaminathan Natarajan • Primary Advisor • Dr. J Fernando Naveda • Secondary Advisor
Process / Plan • Projected Plan
Process / Plan • Actual Progress
Process / Plan • Phase 1 Deliverables • Portlet Technology Analysis Report • Overview of Technology • Learning Curve • Reference Information • Click Here • Prototypes • Deployment Files • Source Files • Click Here • Project Website • Availability of All Documentation • Click Here
Accomplishments • WebSphere Environment Installed & Configured • 2 Portlet Prototypes Operational: • Simple Form Handling • Inter-portlet message passing • Interim Portlet Technology Analysis Report
Findings • What are portals? • Presentation Layer to Info Systems • Contains Portlets • What are Portlets? • “Pluggable” Components • Modes • States
Findings • J2EE Application Design • Portlet Application Design
Findings • Architecture • Portlets • Container • Portal
Findings • WebSphere Configuration • Client • Intel Pentium 4 running at 1.8GHz • 768Mb of RAM • Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 1 • Studio Application Developer, V.5.1 • Portal Toolkit, V.5.0.2 • Server • Intel Pentium 4 running at 1.8GHz • 1024Mb of RAM • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Edition, Service Pack 4 • Application Server Enterprise Edition, V.5.0 • Portal Server Express, V.5.0 • DB2 V.8.1
Findings • Application Developer • In-line Error Checking • Type Checking • Application Templates & Wizards • Straightforward Application Creation • Server Integration • Debugging & Test Environment • Enhanced User Interface • XML, HTML, JSP
Findings • Toolkit Analysis • Ease of Development • Create Default Portlet Application • Tune to Our Application • Edit JSPs, Servlets, JavaBeans, etc. • Export to .war • Portal Console Analysis • Ease of Deployment (Portal Server) • Install .war • Add to Page
Pitfalls • WebSphere Configuration • Resolved: • Difficulty Meeting Hardware Requirements • Server - 1024Mb of RAM • SE Systems Administrator Transition • IBM license agreement recreated • Open: • Client’s Local Test Environment • Lack of Technical Documentation • Contact IBM Technical Rep.
Demos • Simple Portlet Application • Goal: • Create and deploy simple portlet to server • Technologies: • Portlet Servlets • Java Server Pages (JSP) • Java Beans • View: • EMailerPortlet
Demos • Messaging Portlet Application • Goal: • Communicate between portlets via message passing • Technologies: • Portlet Servlets w/ Events • Java Server Pages (JSP) • Java Beans • View: • MessageSenderPortlet
Objectives Revisited • Phase 1 Objectives • Is portal technology a feasible solution? • Complexity • Inter-portlet communication – Message Passing! • User based roles (permissions) – Featured In Portal Server! • Compatibility with existing databases • LDAP • Performance • Efficiency • Knowledge – Conceptual Overview, Tutorials • Tool Support • Procedures • Learning Curve
Future Plans • Continued Objectives: • Complexity • Inter-portlet communication • Performance Analysis • Knowledge • Learning Curve • New Objectives: • Excellus Architectural Prototype • Exploring Key Concerns
Conclusion • Introduction • Process / Plan • Accomplishments • Findings • Pitfalls • Demos • Objectives Revisited • Future Goals • Questions?