© Blackboard, Inc. All rights reserved. Deploying a complex building block Andre Koehorst Learning Lab Universiteit Maastricht, the Netherlands July 18 th 11:30 AM

Outline » Intro » Problems, analysis, solution » Skills » Misconfiguration » Broken Blackboard installations » Incompatibilities » Administration » Database » Usability » Conclusions

Intro: architecture

Intro: Deployment » Send a war file » Install war file » Make Building Block available » Run DB-scripts » Unpack war file » Change BB-manifest » Change property class file » Compile property class file » Create adapted war file » Replace corrupt class files » Link to course menu

Skills (1) Ok, I think I am compiling the properties file correctly with all of the correction configuration information however in which directory should the new war file be located? I checked the directory above (\polaris.war3a) and the war file that is there is the original one from package still containing "our.customer.com". There is no war file created within the directory where I executed the compile script. And the instructions don't say where it should be....please help. Thanks.

Skills (2) Analysis » Functional support people may have neither the skills nor the authority for technical or database support

Skills (3) Resolution » Schedule for the right people » Do not send out the package until you are in contact with the right people » Offer to step in (and be sensitive)

Misconfiguration (1) We have attempted to configure the connection between our Blackboard server and the Oracle server located at "polaris1.unimaas.nl" as directed in an earlier . We are able to successfully compile the file without error. However, when we select 'Polaris Knowledge Builder' in the Communications page, we receive the following error "The POLARIS Knowledge Builder has failed due to a problem with the database. This might be caused by a connection error to the database. Please try again or contact your Blackboard administrator.". We have attached copies of the following files: polarispropeties.java, compile polarproperties.bat, and batmsg.txt (the text when running the.bat file).

Misconfiguration (2)

Misconfiguration (3)

Misconfiguration (4) » » "

Misconfiguration (4)

Misconfiguration (5) Analysis » People make mistakes » Necessary information is missing » Procedure for reconfiguring BB-manifest is frustrating

Misconfiguration (6) Resolution » Configure for your clients » Use properties in combination with a configuration page » Fix common mistakes automatically » Have testing possibility Wishes » Documentation » Manifest tester » Update of bb-manifest

Broken blackboard (1) Two of our clients have suffered from the same error message. The problem has been pinned down to calling the context tag on a jsp. We have created a building block that has one jsp that only has an open context tag, a print message statement and a close context tag: We have included the war file of the test building block as attachment. This results in an error message with the following root cause: … java.util.MissingResourceException: Unable to load bundle. at blackboard.platform.intl.BundleManagerImpl.getBundle(BundleManagerImp l.java:150) at blackboard.servlet.tags.data.ContextTag.doStartTag(ContextTag.java:106)

Broken blackboard (2)

Broken Blackboard (3) … by default these variables DBTOTALCONNS and DBMAXCONNS are set to 10 and 20 respectively. When polaris is installed for the first time, and it's set to be AVAILABLE, these first 10 connection are initialized, which is normal. If I set to NOT AVAILABLE or INACTIVE the polaris module, these 10 connections keep alive and active in the oracle database server and if I set Polaris plugin to AVAILABLE again, the module raise to 20 the number of connections to the DB.

Broken blackboard (4) Analysis » Blackboard installations may be defect, especially on test and acceptation servers » Blackboard installations may be defect in such a way that not all building blocks are affected. » Blackboard does not always install complex building blocks correctly: class and jar files may get corrupted during upload » Blackboard does not always handle de-activation of complex building blocks correctly

Broken Blackboard (5) Resolution » Allways compare original and uploaded files » Corrupt files may be replaced by hand after installation » Use test set of war files to determine scope of problems Wishes » Robust war file handling of complex building blocks » Have default test set

Incompatibilities (1) Method Summary static String encodeencode(String s) Deprecated. The resulting string may vary depending on the platform's default encoding. Instead, use the encode(String,String) method to specify the encoding.String static String encodeencode(String s, String enc) Translates a string into application/x-www-form-urlencoded format using a specific encoding scheme.String

Incompatibilities (2) Analysis » Methods do change » Changed methods may break the code

Incompatibilities (3) Resolution » Test, test, test

Administration (1) I can enable the Polaris Building Block through the ‘Course Menu Settings’ in the control panel, however, the Building Block doesn’t appear in the course menu unless it is enabled through the system extensions area in the System Admin section. The problem is, if I enable the extension in the system extensions area (by setting the extension to enabled), Blackboard shows a link to Polaris in each course on the server. Do you know of a way around this? Please advise.

Administration (2)

Administration (3)

Administration (4) Analysis » External building blocks treated differently » Administration scoped for building locks, not entry points » Different opinions on how BBlocks should be administrated

Administration (5) Resolution » Fix things by other means of administration » Cheat the system by changing the properties of your building block in the database (ILLEGAL) » Use multiple simple building blocks Wishes » Adapt scope to entry points » Handle all building blocks the same way

Database (1)

Database (2) Other problems » Stale connection » Maximum amount of cursors exceeded » Synchronization of data between BB and POLARIS databases » Performance » Request for functionality for database cleanup

Database (3) Analysis » Content of db not trustworthy in case of problems » Duplication of information » Functionally and technically complex » Additional administration needed

Database (4) Resolution » Buy a solution? » Program defensively Wishes » Reuse pooling system » Use BB database

Usability (1)

Usability (2)

Usability (3)

Analysis » Restrictions raise support questions » Additional configuration by user raises support level » Affordances are needed

Usability (4) Resolution » Remove all restrictions » Keep everything in one window/frame » Add visual affordances for all functionality Wishes » Tag libraries

Conclusions » Communicate with the right people » Create war file as service » Remove all user constraints » Have a test on system properties » Do not trust the installation » Do not trust the database » KISS