IBM Workplace Forms: Guide to Building and Integrating a Sample Workplace Forms Application

IBM Workplace Forms: Guide to Building and Integrating a Sample Workplace Forms Application

by Bernd Beilke, Cayce Marston, Kioko Mwosa, George Poirier, Andreas A. Richter, Deanna Drschiwiski, John Bergland, Yves Bollanga
Released July 2006
Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
ISBN: None

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Book description

This IBM Redbooks publication describes the features and functionality of Workplace Forms and each of its component products. After introducing the products and providing an overview of features and functionality, we discuss the underlying product architecture and address the concept of integration.

To help potential users, architects, and developers better understand how to develop and implement a forms application, we introduce a specific scenario based on a “Sales Quotation Approval” application. Using this base scenario as a foundation, we describe in detail how to build an application that captures data in a form, then applies specific business logic and workflow to gain approval for a specific product sales quotation.

Throughout the scenario, we build upon the complexity of the application and introduce increasing integration points with other data systems. Ultimately, we demonstrate how an IBM Workplace Forms application can integrate with WebSphere Portal, IBM DB2 Content Manager, and Lotus Domino.

Note: The code used for building this sample scenario application is available for download. For specific information about how to download the sample code, please refer to Appendix A. Additional material”.

Please note that the additional material referenced in the text is not available from IBM.

Table of contents

  1. Notices
    1. Trademarks
  2. Preface
    1. The team that wrote this redbook
    2. Special acknowledgement for support with Portal Integration of the sample application
    3. Additional contributors to this redbook
    4. Become a published author
    5. Comments welcome
  3. Chapter 1: Introduction to Workplace Forms
    1. What is a form?
      1. Form as a front-end to a business process
      2. Electronic Forms: XML Intelligent documents
      3. Forms marketplace
    2. Overview of IBM Workplace Forms
      1. Value proposition
      2. Product positioning
    3. Innovation based on standards: XForms and XFDL
      1. XFDL
      2. XForms + XFDL in alignment with SOA
      3. Sample solutions
      4. Banking and regulated industries
      5. Proven eForm technology
    4. Summary
  4. Chapter 2: Features and functionality
    1. Form Document Model
    2. Workplace Forms Component Technology
    3. Workplace Forms Designer
    4. Workplace Forms Viewer
    5. Workplace Forms Server
      1. Workplace Forms Server API
      2. Workplace Forms Webform Server
      3. Workplace Forms Deployment Server
  5. Chapter 3: Approaches to integrating Workplace Forms
    1. Integration: what this means within the context of Workplace Forms
    2. Workplace Forms document model and straight-through integration
      1. The Workplace Forms document model
      2. Support for arbitrary XML instances
      3. Straight-through integration
    3. Aspects of integrating Workplace Forms
      1. User Interface (UI) Integration
      2. Data integration (1/2)
      3. Data integration (2/2)
      4. Process integration
      5. Security context integration
      6. Client-side device / hardware integration
    4. Integration points summary
    5. Partitioning of features and functionality
    6. Introduction to actual integration scenarios
  6. Chapter 4: Building the base scenario: Stage 1
    1. Introduction to the scenario used throughout this book
      1. Starting with a paper-based form
      2. From paper-based form to an electronic forms based application
      3. Review of the specific forms: End user perspective
    2. Overview of steps: Building Stage 1 of the base scenario
    3. Preparing to build the form template
      1. Wizard pages versus traditional form pages
      2. Considerations in advance: Best Practices for implementing traditional forms and wizard pages
      3. Possible starting points for creating a form
    4. Starting to build forms: Initial creation, design, and layout
      1. Designing the layout of the traditional form
      2. Building the traditional form page
      3. Creating a scanned template
      4. Creating the layout for the wizard pages
      5. Steps to build the wizard pages
      6. Setting up the toolbar
      7. Adding layout items
      8. Reviewing the layout for the traditional form page
      9. Reviewing the layout for the wizard page
    5. Adding input items
      1. Adding input items to the traditional form
      2. Adding input items to the wizard pages
    6. Applying formatting and logic
      1. Creating a field calculation
      2. Creating a custom option
      3. Adding a Submit button
      4. Adding Signature buttons
    7. Adding the XML Data Model
      1. Creating an XML Data Model
      2. Creating XML bindings
      3. XML schema validation
    8. Building the Servlet
      1. Where we are in the process: Building Stage 1 of the base scenario
      2. Basic servlet methods
      3. Servlet code skeleton (1/2)
      4. Servlet code skeleton (2/2)
      5. Creating a template repository and form storage structure
      6. Servlet interaction for forms processing
      7. Accessing a form through the Workplace Forms API
      8. Extraction of form data
      9. Signature validation
      10. Form storage to local file system
      11. Servlet doGet method for application navigation
    9. Creating JSPs
      1. Where we are in the process: Building Stage 1 of the base scenario
      2. Form template listing
      3. Approved form listing
  7. Chapter 5: Building the base scenario: Stage 2
    1. Overview of steps: Building Stage 2 of the base scenario
    2. Data storage to DB2
      1. Installing DB2 Server
      2. Creating tables
      3. Populating tables
      4. Installing DB2 clients on development clients and servers
      5. Developing the data access layer (DB2)
    3. Web services
      1. Where we are in the process of Building Stage 2 of the base scenario
      2. Web services integration (1/2)
      3. Web services integration (2/2)
    4. Servlet access to Form data
      1. Where we are in the process: Building Stage 2 of the base scenario
      2. Servlet Access to form data (prepopulation / data retrieval)
      3. Form prepopulation
      4. Extraction of form data and storage of entire form
      5. Reading form data from DB2
    5. Adjustments to JSPs for Stage 2
      1. Where we are in the process: Building Stage 2 of the base scenario
      2. Modifying the index.jsp
      3. Creating a JSP to view DB2 data
    6. Form prepopulation using Web services
      1. Where we are in the process: Building Stage 2 of the base scenario
      2. Importing the WSDL file
      3. Calling the Web services
    7. Workflow
      1. Where we are in the process: Building Stage 2 of the base scenario
      2. Approval workflow
  8. Chapter 6: Integrating with Portal
    1. Goal of integrating the application with WebSphere Portal
    2. Overview of Portal integration
    3. Writing a portlet (1/4)
    4. Writing a portlet (2/4)
    5. Writing a portlet (3/4)
    6. Writing a portlet (4/4)
    7. Parking the Workplace Forms Viewer in the Portal
    8. Deploying the portlet (1/2)
    9. Deploying the portlet (2/2)
  9. Chapter 7: Zero Footprint with WebForm Server
    1. Zero Footprint solution
    2. Form design delta
    3. Web services moves the solution to Viewer only
  10. Chapter 8: Integration with IBM DB2 Content Manager
    1. Overview
    2. Basic design of Content Manager integration
    3. Integrating the sales quote sample with DB2 Content Manager
      1. Create attributes and item types
      2. Add the CM integration in the form (1/2)
      3. Add the CM integration in the form (2/2)
      4. Servlet to servlet communication
      5. Test the form integration with CM
  11. Chapter 9: Domino integration
    1. Introduction to integration of Domino and Workplace Forms
      1. How can the two technologies complement each other?
    2. Overview and objective of this integration scenario
    3. Environment overview
    4. Setting up the Domino environment
    5. Domino development
      1. Repository database
      2. Template Database: components to create a new form from template (1/6)
      3. Template Database: components to create a new form from template (2/6)
      4. Template Database: components to create a new form from template (3/6)
      5. Template Database: components to create a new form from template (4/6)
      6. Template Database: components to create a new form from template (5/6)
      7. Template Database: components to create a new form from template (6/6)
      8. Template Database: Receiving submitted forms in Domino (1/4)
      9. Template Database: Receiving submitted forms in Domino (2/4)
      10. Template Database: Receiving submitted forms in Domino (3/4)
      11. Template Database: Receiving submitted forms in Domino (4/4)
  12. Appendix A: Additional material
    1. Locating the Web material
    2. Using the Web material
  13. Related publications
    1. Online resources
    2. How to get IBM Redbooks
    3. Help from IBM
  14. Index (1/3)
  15. Index (2/3)
  16. Index (3/3)
  17. Back cover

Product information

  • Title: IBM Workplace Forms: Guide to Building and Integrating a Sample Workplace Forms Application
  • Author(s): Bernd Beilke, Cayce Marston, Kioko Mwosa, George Poirier, Andreas A. Richter, Deanna Drschiwiski, John Bergland, Yves Bollanga
  • Release date: July 2006
  • Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
  • ISBN: None