WebSphere Portal 8.5 Programming Training

Course Overview

Chapter 1. Introduction to WebSphere Portal Server

• What is a Portal
• An Example of a WebSphere Portal Site
• General Portal Architecture
• WebSphere Portal Products
• A Typical Network Architecture for WebSphere Portal
• WebSphere Portal Server
• WebSphere Portal Server Architecture
• Page Aggregation Modules
• Portlet
• WebSphere Portal Built-in Portlets
• Portlet Application
• Portlet Mode and State
• WebSphere Portal Information
• Java Portlet Specification 1.0 (JSR-168)
• Java Portlet Specification 2.0 (JSR-286)
• Portlet Security Overview
• Portal Access Control
• Portal User Management
• Credential Vault Service
• Best Practices For Development
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Answers

Chapter 2. Portlet Development Using Rational Application Developer 9.1

• The RAD 9.1 Product
• Portlet Development Support
• RAD 9.1 Installation
• Portal Server 8.5 Installation
• Basic Steps in Portlet Development
• Project Structure
• Portlet Project
• Create a Project Structure
• portlet.xml Editor
• Create a Test Portal Server
• Managing the Server
• Unit Testing
• Export Portlet Application
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Answers

Chapter 3. Introduction to JSR 286 Based Portal Programming

• What is JSR 286?
• Relationship With Java SE and Java EE
• Comparing Portlets with Servlets
• A Portal Site
• Portlet
• Portlet Application
• The portlet.xml File
• Portlet Definition in portlet.xml
• Portlet Container
• Portlet Window
• Review Questions
• Review Answers
• Summary

Chapter 4. Basic Portlet Programming

• Model-View-Controller in Portlet Application
• The Portlet Interface
• The Hello World Portlet
• Portlet Lifecycle - Initialization
• Portlet Lifecycle – Request Handling
• Two Phase Request Processing
• Two Phase Request Processing Architecture
• The render Method
• The PortletRequest Interface
• The PortletResponse Interface
• The RenderResponse Interface
• PortletURL
• PortletURL Example
• The processAction Method
• The ActionRequest Interface
• Example: Handling Form Submission
• The ActionResponse Interface
• Example Use of Render Parameters
• Dealing With Browser History
• The GenericPortlet Class
• User Session Management
• Using the Session
• Relationship of PortletSession with HttpSession
• Session Usage Example
• End of Portlet Life
• Portlet Configuration
• Initialization Parameters
• Portlet Context
• Invoking the View Layer
• Controller Logic Implementation Techniques
• Review Questions
• Review Answers
• Summary

Chapter 5. Portlet Preferences

• Portlet Preferences
• Portlet Preferences API
• Example: Reading Preferences
• Updating Portlet Preferences
• Example: Updating Preference
• Validating Preference Update
• Example Validator Class
• Review Questions
• Review Answers
• Summary

Chapter 6. Display Generation

• Techniques in View Development
• PortletRequestDispatcher include/forward Details
• JSR 286 Tags
• The defineObjects Tag
• Example defineObjects Usage
• The actionURL Tag
• The renderURL Tag
• The param Tag
• The namespace Tag
• Review Questions
• Review Answers
• Summary

Chapter 7. 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?
• Deploying Portlets Within an EAR
• Managing Portlet Web Modules
• Managing Portlet Applications
• Managing Portlets
• Configuring a Portlet
• Copying a Portlet Application
• Copy a Portlet
• Uninstalling a Portlet Application
• Summary

Chapter 8. Portlet Internationalization

• National Language Support
• Resource Bundle File
• Displaying Translated Text
• Portlet Resource Bundle
• Providing Locale Specific Preference Defaults
• Review Questions
• Review Answers
• Summary

Chapter 9. Advanced Programming Topics

• JSR 286 Annotations
• @RenderMode
• @ProcessAction Annotation
• Setting the Action Name in URL
• Portlet Caching
• Basic Caching Setup
• Programmatic Cache Control
• Validation Based Caching
• Validation Caching API
• Example Validation Control
• Summary

Chapter 10. Portlet Communication Overview

• Portlet Communication Techniques
• Comparison of Portlet Communication Techniques
• Which Portlet Communication Technique Should I Use?
• Summary

Chapter 11. Portlet Event

• Portlet Events
• Event Architecture
• Example Use Case
• Event Flow Sequence
• Sequence Diagram
• Defining an Event in portlet.xml
• Using Default Namespace
• Creating the Payload Class
• Publishing an Event
• Consuming an Event
• The @ProcessEvent Annotation
• Details about @ProcessEvent
• Additional Notes About Events
• Portlet Event Configuration
• Summary

Chapter 12. Public Render Parameter

• Public Render Parameters
• Example Use Case
• Steps to Using Public Render Parameters
• Define Public Render Parameter in portlet.xml
• Declare Public Render Parameter for a Portlet
• Setting Value of a Public Render Parameter
• Example Setting Public Render Parameter
• Getting Value of a Public Render Parameter
• Additional API
• Limitations
• Summary

Chapter 13. Client-side Click-to-Action Portlet Communication

• Client-side Click-to-Action ("Live Text")
• Example Use Case
• Specify a Live Text Source
• Specify a Live Text Source – Example
• Specify a Live Text Target
• Specify a Live Text Target - Example
• Looking Underneath the Hood
• Theme Profile for Live Text
• Summary

Chapter 14. Developing JSF Portlets for WebSphere Portal

• What is JavaServer Faces (JSF)?
• Why Use JSF?
• Nature of a JSF Application
• JSF and MVC
• Faces Servlet
• Managed Bean
• The View
• A Simple JSF Application
• The Input Form: form.jsp
• The Result: thanks.jsp
• The Controller: AddressBean
• Page Flow or Navigation Rule
• How Does the Application Work?
• Creating a JSF Portlet
• Navigation State Management
• Advanced: Obtaining Core JSF Objects
• JSF 2.0 and Portlets 2.0
• Summary

Chapter 15. Spring MVC Portlets

• Portlets
• Spring Portlet MVC Framework
• Spring MVC and Portlet Configuration
• Spring Required JARS
• Configuring Spring Portlet MVC Framework
• Spring Portlet Views
• Spring Portlet Handler Mappings
• Mapping on Render Parameters
• Handling Portlet Actions
• Session Attributes
• Global Session
• JSR-286 Resource Serving
• JSR-286 Events
• Summary

Chapter 16. Web Services for Remote Portlets

• Remote Portlets
• WSRP
• WSRP Terminology
• WSRP Benefits
• WSRP Architecture
• Information Artifacts
• Security Issues
• JSR-286 and WSRP 2.0
• Pre-defined Container Events
• Summary

Chapter 17. Using AJAX in a Portlet

• What is AJAX?
• A Simple Example
• The Old Way
• The AJAX Way
• Two Key Aspects of AJAX
• Advantages of the AJAX Approach
• The Basic AJAX API
• Creating the XMLHttpRequest Object
• The XMLHttpRequest Object Basics
• Complete Example
• The Timeline
• Using AJAX from a Portlet
• JSR-286 and AJAX
• The ResourceServingPortlet Interface
• Output From serveResource()
• ResourceURL
• AJAX Request Timeline
• Steps to be Taken by a Portlet
• A Complete Example
• The View JSP
• The Portlet Class
• Summary

Chapter 18. The Dojo Toolkit

• Introduction
• Installation
• Dojo Capabilities
• Simple Example – Tab Widget
• How Does DOJO Work?
• Importing Packages
• Widget Basics
• Widget Layout Example
• The Two byId() Methods
• Widget Properties
• Widget Events
• Common Features of Widgets
• Form Input Widgets
• The Button Widget
• The Checkbox Widget
• The ComboBox Widget
• The FilteringSelect Widget
• The DateTextBox Widget
• Layout Widgets
• Other Common GUI Widgets
• Creating Widget Instances Programmatically
• Creating Widgets Programmatically
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Answers

Chapter 19. Using Dojo in WebSphere Portal 8.5

• Dojo and WebSphere Portal 8.5
• Dojo and AJAX Portlets
• Dojo Versions in WebSphere Portal 8.5
• Dojo Best Practices
• Dojo Support in RAD 9.1 – New Project
• Dojo Support in RAD 9.1 – Existing Project
• Dojo Tools in RAD 9.1
• Generated Dojo Code in RAD 9.1
• Summary

Chapter 20. WebSphere Portal Personalization Framework

• Overview of Personalization
• Presenting the Personalized Content
• Creating a Personalization Rule
• Personalization Campaigns
• Content Spots
• Personalization JAR Files
• Personalization Resources
• Personalization Portlets
• Personalization Rules
• Using Visibility Rules
• Personalization Rules Process Flow
• Summary

Chapter 21. Portlet Services

• 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 – Using a Service
• Credential Vault Service
• Example - Looking Up Credential Vault Service
• Example – Create a Credential Slot
• Content Access Service
• Summary
• Review Questions
• Review Answers

Chapter 22. WebSphere Portal Server 8.5 Administration

• Elements of a Portal Site
• Page, Label, and URL
• Creating Pages, Labels and URLs
• Adding a Portlet to a Page
• Removing a Portlet From a Page
• Web Content Page Management
• New WCM Features in WebSphere Portal 8
• Create a Project
• Publish and Approval
• WebSphere Portal Security Management
• Admin portlets: Manage Users and Groups
• Create New User
• Virtual Portals and Realms
• Associating Virtual Portal with Realm
• Create Virtual Portal
• Login to Virtual Portal
• XML Access
• Export Portal Configuration
• Export Virtual Portals
• Summary

Chapter 23. Developing WebSphere Portal Themes and Skins

• Changes in WebSphere Portal 8.5 Themes
• Theme and Skin Concepts
• Using WebDAV to Access Theme Files
• Creating a Custom Theme
• Customizing the New Theme
• Important Styles
• Dynamic Content Spot
• Configuring Dynamic Content Spot
• Developing a Theme as an EAR File
• Registering Themes Deployed as an EAR
• WebSphere Portal Tag Libraries
• Using WebSphere Portal Tag Libraries
• Managing Themes and Skins
• Module Theme Framework
• Setting Theme Profiles
• Custom Theme Modules
• Summary

Chapter 24. Developing Multi Channel Portal Application

• Introduction
• Multi Channel Support by RAD 9.1
• Developing Views for Smart-phones and tablets
• Create Portlet Project with Mobile Support
• Portlet Project Structure with Device Support
• Using Dojo Mobile widgets
• Testing Portlets in Mobile Browser Simulator
• Run on Mobile Browser Simulator
• Device classes
• Device class Example
• Summary

Chapter 25. Portal Development Best Practices

• Architecture Best Practices
• Controller (Portlet) Guidelines
• View (JSP) Guidelines
• Configuration Management
• Session Management
• Security Guidelines
• Portlet Performance Tips
• Performance Testing Guidelines
• Summary

Lab Exercises

Lab 1. Configure The Development Environment
Lab 2. Basic Portlet Development
Lab 3. Action Handling
Lab 4. Working With Portlet Modes
Lab 5. Working With Portlet Preferences
Lab 6. Validating Preference Values
Lab 7. Basic View Development
Lab 8. Building a Complete Application Using MVC
Lab 9. Internationalize the Addressbook Portlet
Lab 10. Portlet Events
Lab 11. Non-Event Portlet Communication
Lab 12. Basic JSF Based Portlet Development
Lab 13. Spring MVC Portlet
Lab 14. Using AJAX From a Portlet
Lab 15. Dojo Portlet Using Dojo Toolkit
Lab 16. Develop a Portlet Service
Lab 17. Customizing Portal Look and Feel
Lab 18. Develop Multichannel Portal Application

Prerequisites

Students should have intermediate knowledge of Java development using Rational Application Developer. Knowledge of Servlet and JSP is strongly recommended.