eClient 101 Customization and Integration

326 eClient 101 Customization and Integration

14.1 Overview

There are many software application integration scenarios where users of an

existing application need an easy way to view content available through eClient.

For example, users of an insurance claims processing application may use a

custom-built application to locate basic claim information from a database

regarding insurance claims. After locating the claims, they may want to have an

easy way to view documents related to the claim (claim forms, photos, policy

documents, etc.) in eClient.

If using out-of-the box eClient to access the related documents, users have to

launch eClient, log on, select search templates, and enter search criteria (such

as claim numbers) to locate the documents. Users would have a better

experience if they could simply select a custom button or menu from their Line of

Business (LOB) application that would automatically show them a list of

documents in an eClient window for the claims they are looking for without having

to explicitly log on and enter the search criteria. The LOBIntegrator servlet and

some custom code in the LOB application can provide this type of functionality.

The key component required to implement this functionality is the LOBIntegrator

servlet. This servlet provides a new URL that is part of the eClient application

and can be invoked with specific parameters to specify logon and search

parameters. The servlet parses the parameters from the URL and automatically

logs on and performs a search. The search results are displayed in the standard

eClient window, allowing users to view and manipulate the documents.

The application you are integrating with may be written in one of many

languages. For example, it may be written in Java, Visual Basic, C++, FoxPro,

PowerBuilder, or perhaps it is a 3270 application running in an emulator. The

LOBIntegrator servlet can be used with any of these types of applications. Any

application that can launch a Web browser and pass a URL to it can use the

functionality of the servlet. Later in this chapter, we provide more information on

how to invoke the LOBIntegrator servlet from your LOB application.

14.2 Servlet source code

This section lists the source code for the LOBIntegrator servlet. The servlet can

be added to eClient to allow other applications to perform automatic searches by

generating a correctly formatted URL.

If you are integrating eClient with another J2EE application, you can add this

servlet to your custom J2EE application instead of adding it to eClient. Either

way, it does the same thing. Adding it to your custom J2EE application may be

better because you avoid any customization of eClient.

Chapter 14. Invoking eClient from another application 327

Example 14-1 includes the complete source code for LOBIntegrator servlet. You

can download a soft copy of the source code from Web. See Appendix B,

“Additional material” on page 465 for download instructions.

The source code is fairly simple. The bulk of the code is in the ProcessRequest()

method. It gets the parameters from the URL, performs the initialization and

logon if necessary, and builds a URL for the standard IDMSearch servlet in

eClient to perform the search and display the search results.

Example 14-1 LOBIntegrator servlet

/*

This 'as is' sample source code is provided with the IBM Redbook

SG246964. The source code is for a Servlet that can be added to

the eClient to allow an application to launch a browser with a

specific URL that will logon, perform a search, and display the

search results in the browser window.

*/

import java.io.IOException;

import javax.servlet.ServletException;

import javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet;

import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;

import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;

import java.net.URLEncoder;

import javax.servlet.http.HttpSession;

import com.ibm.mm.beans.CMBConnection;

public class LOBIntegrator extends HttpServlet {

public void init() throws ServletException {

super.init();

}

public void doGet(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse resp)

throws ServletException, IOException {

processRequest(req, resp);

}

public void doPost(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse resp)

throws ServletException, IOException {

processRequest(req, resp);

}

private String convertString(String strValue)

{

328 eClient 101 Customization and Integration

String strNewValue = "";

for (int i = 0; i < strValue.length(); i++)

{

if (strValue.charAt(i) == ' ')

{

strNewValue = strNewValue + "%2B";

}

else if (strValue.charAt(i) == '(')

{

strNewValue = strNewValue + "%28";

}

else if (strValue.charAt(i) == ')')

{

strNewValue = strNewValue + "%29";

}

else

{

strNewValue = strNewValue + strValue.charAt(i);

}

}

System.out.println("Old: " + strValue);

System.out.println("New: " + strNewValue);

return strNewValue;

}

public void processRequest(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse

response)

throws ServletException, IOException {

try {

String strTemp = "";

String url = "";

// Connection parameters and default values

String strServerName = "ICMNLSDB";

String strServerType = "ICM";

String strUserID = "icmadmin";

String strPassword = "password";

// Search parameters

String strSearchType = "";

String strSearchEntity = "";

String strSearchAttr1 = "";

String strSearchValue1 = "";

//