1. Creating Novell Portal Services Gadgets: An Architectural Overview
Novell BrainShare 2002
Creating Novell Portal Services Gadgets: An Architectural Overview
Scott Villinski
CTS
Novell, Inc.
Kevin James
Prototype Systems Developer
TUT251—Creating Novell Portal Services Gadgets: An Architectural Overview

2. Agenda Novell vision and mission
Novell Portal Services (NPS) architecture
NPS gadget overview
Additional advanced programming

3. Vision…one Net Mission
Novell BrainShare 2002
Vision…one Net
A world where networks of all types—corporate and public, intranets, extranets, and the Internet—work together as one Net and securely connect employees, customers, suppliers, and partners across organizational boundaries
Mission
To solve complex business and technical challenges with Net business solutions that enable people, processes, and systems to work together and our customers to profit from the opportunities of a networked world
TUT251—Creating Novell Portal Services Gadgets: An Architectural Overview

5. One Step Authentication
Novell BrainShare 2002
NPS Architecture
Database
GroupWare
Web content
Gadgets
HTML
HTML Code
ASP
JSP
Scripts
XML
Information Feeds
LOB Engines
Java
Applications
Collaboration
Management
Administration
Legacy Apps
One Step Authentication
No addition passwords
Account management
Access rights
Novell eDirectory™
One identity
Knows you
Personalized
Novell Portal Services
Novell Portal Services rides on top of leading web application servers. This includes environments in windows, linux, Netware, and Solaris.
The user simply goes to the URL for the portal – in this example it is the yourcompany.com – the application server passes it to Novell Portal Services.
Novell Portal Services prompts the user to then login. Here the id and password are compared against eDirectory. eDirectory can be your current NDS directory or a standalone tree – this is really only dependent on how you implement it. eDirectory acts as the secure database for all the data and user information that is used to build the portal. Novell Portal Services uses this to build a personalized page for the user – based on who they are in the directory. This is done based on their business context – the context of who they are in your organization – their department, title, location, etc. to build and present the correct information.
The building blocks of the user presentation are called gadgets. They are windows of information from your intranet and the internet. They can access data and information in HTML, XML, and JAVA – accessing Databases, GroupWare, and Web Content. They also provide ease of password access as they can securely store user ids and passwords in eDirectory so users don’t have to keep re-entering their information over and over again.
Web application server
TUT251—Creating Novell Portal Services Gadgets: An Architectural Overview

6. What Is a Gadget? Application used to interface with resource
Databases, directories, files, Internet resources
Can be remote or native
Consists of XML and XSL Transformations (XSLT)
Integrates with Novell eDirectory™ using NPS APIs
Doesn’t require knowledge of Novell eDirectory APIs or LDAP APIs

7. Novell Portal Services SDK
Gadget runner
Tomcat engine
LDAP emulator
Documentation
API Docs
Sample code

8. High-Level Design User logs on and requests database information
Request is forwarded to the gadget responsible for that information
Gadget accesses client’s authentication information from the directory
Gadget retrieves information from the back-end server
Gadget presents information to the Novell Portal Services servlet as an XML stream
Information is delivered to user

9. Simple Gadget Process Flow
Manager 7
7. NPS renders XML and XSL to HTML 1
1. Http request for 2
2. Determine what gadgets are for this user’s page
Gadget 3
3. Return gadget name 4
4. Call gadget’s getData()
NPS 5
5. Return gadget’s XML data
Stylesheet 6
6. Grab the gadget’s XSL file

10. Creating a Simple Gadget
Extend the BaseGadgetInstance
public class NIMSStats extends com.novell.nps.gadgetManager.BaseGadgetInstance
Override the getData method
public void getData(HttpServletRequest req, BufferedWriter out, Document domTree) throws GadgetInstanceException

11. Extend BaseGadgetInstance

12. Override getData() Method

13. Resulting XML Document

14. Corresponding XSL Document

15. Corresponding XSL Document

16. Advanced Gadget Process Flow
Manager 2
2. NPS asks Gadget Manager for gadget instance matching GI_ID provided in form data 1
Browser makes POST request with form data 9
9. NPS combines XML and XSL to create HTML document to return to browser 3
3. Gadget Manager returns gadget instance that matches GI_ID passed in the form data
Gadget 4
4. NPS calls gadget’s processRequest method, passing a HttpServletRequest object containing the form data
NPS 5
5. After processing the form data, maybe setting some values in the user’s session, processRequest returns 6
6. NPS calls gadget’s getData method 7
7. Gadget returns an XML fragment—depends on gadget’s design and user’s configuration
Stylesheet 8
8. NPS gets gadget’s stylesheet

17. Creating an Advanced Gadget
Extend the BaseGadgetInstance
public class NIMSList extends com.novell.nps.gadgetManager.BaseGadgetInstance
Override the getData method
public void getData(HttpServletRequest req, BufferedWriter out, Document domTree) throws GadgetInstanceException
Override the processRequest method
public void processRequest (HttpServletRequest req) throws GadgetInstanceException

18. Extend BaseGadgetInstance

19. Override getData() Method

20. Override processRequest() Method

21. Additional Advanced Programming
Reading configuration
Writing configuration
Overriding default XSL stylesheet
Debug logging

22. Read Configuration Process Flow
Novell BrainShare 2002
Read Configuration Process Flow
Directory 4
4. Configuration manager queries directory for user/ gadget assignment configuration 5
5. Data is returned from the directory
Configuration
Manager 1
Browser makes POST request with form data 9
9. NPS combines XML and XSL to create HTML document to return to browser 3
3. Gadget calls getConfigSetting (inherited from BaseGadgetInstance) 6
6. Configuration manager calculates the setting value and returns it to the gadget
NPS
Gadget 7
7. Gadget generates XML document based on returned setting 2
2. NPS calls gadget’s getData method
4 / 5 / 6. The Configuration manager will get from the directory the settings for the gadget assignment, and the settings on the user, and then create a configuration object based on the overwritable / cumulative flags for the gadget instance. 8
8. NPS gets gadget’s stylesheet
Stylesheet
TUT251—Creating Novell Portal Services Gadgets: An Architectural Overview

23. Extend BaseGadgetInstance

24. Override getData() Method

25. Reading Configuration
Used to store configuration information in the directory
To read a configuration
getConfigSetting

26. Gadget Configuration Settings
Gadget configuration settings can be
Overwritable—meaning a user can over write the setting
Cumulative—add up all of the settings
1 = True
0 = False
getConfigSetting()
Overwritable=True
Overwritable=False
Cumulative=True
Gadget Value 1
User Value 1
Cumulative=False

27. Write Configuration Process Flow
Novell BrainShare 2002
Write Configuration Process Flow 7
7. Status of write is returned from directory
Directory 6
6. Configuration manager writes setting to users’ bhConfigRW attribute
Configuration
Manager 1
Browser makes POST request with form data 11
11. NPS combines XML and XSL to create HTML document to return to browser 8
8. Configuration manager returns status of config write to gadget 5
5. Gadget calls writeConfig (inherited from BaseGadgetInstance) 3
3. Gadget calls setConfigSetting (inherited from BaseGadgetInstance) 4
4. Configuration manager updates its internal representation of the setting, and returns
NPS 2
2. NPS calls gadget’s getData method
Gadget 9
9. Gadget generates XML document based on returned setting
4 / 5 / 6. The Configuration manager will get from the directory the settings for the gadget assignment, and the settings on the user, and then create a configuration object based on the overwritable / cumulative flags for the gadget instance. 10
10. NPS gets gadget stylesheet
Stylesheet
TUT251—Creating Novell Portal Services Gadgets: An Architectural Overview

28. Writing Configuration
Used to create/update configuration information
If setting doesn’t exist, will create it

29. Overriding default XSL Stylesheet
By default, main.xsl is the stylesheet used
For example: XML Remote gadget overrides the default stylesheets
Use this: getStylesheetAndResourceSets

30. Debug Logging NPS provides a logging facility
Messages can be sent to the servlet screen or a log file
Logging level is configured in the Portal Admin