IBM Workplace Web Content Management Java Edition V2 and IBM DB2 Content Manager V8 Working Together

Chapter 9. Portal integration 191

9.3 Levels of integration

There are basically four levels of integration which match the approach of portlet

patterns for integration approaches of external applications in general.

򐂰 Link

Showing a link on the portal page only. Clicking the link would open a second

browser window.

򐂰 Display

This is mainly done using the Web page portlet which itself renders the

external application into the portal page using an iFrame.

򐂰 Integrated

Mainly done by using existing portlets or low complexity development.

򐂰 Migrated

The external application is no longer used in its original state. All the functions

of the user interface are reprogrammed in a portlet using the portal API and

the API of the application to be integrated.

Table 9-1 Portlet pattern advantages/disadvantages

The corresponding levels of integration regarding LWWCM are shown in

Table 9-2 on page 192.

Advantages Disadvantages

Link

򐂰 Quick and easy

򐂰 Access existing applications

򐂰 No modifications to existing

functionality

򐂰 Simple Web link from the

portal

򐂰 Doesn’t use the portal

framework to display the

actual application

Display

򐂰 Minimal enhancements to

existing functionality

򐂰 Optional link outside portal

to access existing

applications for more

advanced functionality

򐂰 Minimal or no application

functionality within the

portal framework

Integrated

򐂰 Significant functionality

within portal

򐂰 Requires development

time and might be more

difficult to implement

Migrated

򐂰 Full application functionality

within portal

򐂰 Technically challenging

and resource intensive to

implement

192 Lotus Workplace Web Content Management and Content Manager Working Together

Table 9-2 LWWCM/Content Manager integration pattern

In the following sections, we choose the integrated approach.

Link

This is a link pointing to Content Manager content. This link can

either be hard-coded or generated dynamically. You can do this

with the federated component, connect tags or JSP component

(see Chapter 7, “Publishing Content Manager content” on

page 115). The content would normally open in a separate

window once you click the link.

Display

There are two ways to display external applications in portal:

1. Usually this is done through the Web page portlet which

offers the ability to pull an external Web page into an iFrame.

Since this happens on the user’s machine, the user needs to

have access to the remote URL. Any existing Web application

displaying Content Manager content could be referenced in

this iFrame.

2. Web clipping is another approach to display external Web

applications in the portal. Technically, the WebSphere Portal

Server server fetches the HTTP stream of a defined URL.

Before it is actually displayed on the portal page,

modifications can be done to the stream, such as URL

rewriting, definitions of start and end points, login. Any

existing Web application displaying Content Manager content

can be referenced by the Web clipping portlet.

Integrated

This uses the existing LWWCM and Content Manager portlets

provided by IBM. From an LWWCM point of view, it requires

some development regarding portal-specific components and

only a small effort to set up and configure the portlets. This is the

preferred approach.

Migrated

This uses the API of both LWWCM and Content Manager to

develop brand-new portlets. From an LWWCM point of view,

there is no need to choose this method, since the level of

integration you can reach with the existing portlets is sufficient in

most cases. One example of this approach is the seamless

integration of the LWWCM hierarchy into the portal navigation,

instead of using the content viewer portlet as a navigator portlet.

This can be achieved through a portlet which first uses the

LWWCM API to read the hierarchical information and from then

on uses the portal API to compose a native portal navigation

structure.