Castle in the Clouds: SaaS-Enabling Oracle ADF Faces Applications

Castle in the Clouds: SaaS-Enabling Oracle ADF Faces ApplicationsOracle Open World 2009Wednesday, 14thOctoberLucas Jellema AMIS, The Netherlands

OverviewWhat makes an application ‘SaaS’?And why provide an application as SaaSRequirements of SaaS applicationsFocus on CustomizationIntegration & SOA across the cloudDeep Linking, Mash Up and UI ServicesServices APIRemote Events ListenersSummary and Road Ahead

Software as a Servicecommon characteristicsSingle instance of standard application & databaseRunning in a shared infrastructure, 24/7Managed by central administration teamDelivered over the internet to web browsersUsed by individuals from many organizationsMulti-tenant with multiple users eachGlobally distributed & multi-lingual user communityLicence model based on usage metricsService Level Agreement to specify quality of service

Software as a Service(perceived) benefitsSmall up-front investmentQuick startup – ‘turn on the software tap’ Professional administration with guaranteed performance and application availabilityLow TCO through ‘economies of scale’Dynamic ScalabilityRapid evolution of new features and bug resolution – quick deploymentQuick adoption of new technologyCommunity to create, foster & share best practices

Software as a Serviceconcerns & potential disadvantagesDependence on 3rd party forSecurity, Availability & Performance, ScalabilityData outside the own infrastructureStandard application – not at all tailor-madeOur own terminology, fields, default values, validation rules, workflowHow does SaaS application integrate withOur SOA & EDA, Mash Up/Portal and WorkflowIdentity Management and Single Sign On How to prevent lock-in with the SaaS provider

SaaSRequirements: Integration across the cloudMake SaaS application integrate with IT backbone of the organization using the SaaSSOA & EDA, workflow management, identity management, email server and other shared central facilitiesTwo-way, based on open standards, geared towards both programmatic and UI integration

SaaS RequirementsCustomizationAllow organizations and individuals to tailor the ‘standard’ application for better fitWithin the single instance of the SaaS applicationEasy, dynamic, run-time, self-service in browserMulti-version on single ‘url and database’SaaS customers can upgrade to new versions of the SaaS application when they want to

Application ‘levels of reality’FactoryCustomerCustomerOrganization BOrganization AEnd UserEnd User

Application Mode SwitcherApplication Managers can switch between Application ModesTo view and manipulate the application at the selected level

Application Rollout process…Development in the FactoryProduction-time refiningCustomer (organization) specific implementationBy SaaS Helpdesk, on site consultant, Application AdminEnd User (dynamic, run-time) Personalization

ProposalLet’s approach every end user application as a SaaS application!Both standard and custom applications

Desirable SaaS features & facilitiesDynamic, Wiki-like, context-sensitive helpIntegration with incident registrationAutomatic passing of page, context data & logging‘Simulate user’ option for the service deskSLA metrics and application usage monitoringSelf Service style application management‘Toggle’ between factory, organization and userIntegrated workflow & collaborationCommunication (email, chat), task list, tagging, …“Register interest in” – notification of events

CustomizationAllow tailoring of terminology to organizationDynamic, run-time resource bundle managementResource Bundles per organization (and individual)Support for adding/hiding fieldsConfiguration of application behavior through organization and user level preferencesPersonalization (my…) features for fine tuningWorkflow and task configurationConfigure menus and add new itemsFine tune look & feel – e.g. skins, styles, logos

Customizing terminology Boilerplate text – prompt, title, button label, messages, help,… - come from resource bundlesBuilt in support for i18n – language & countryTypically held in property files deployed in WARWe need to implement resource bundlesthat can be updated and refreshed at run timeOr at least extended with any overrides of default valueskeys that support the notion of organization specific versions of bundle entries in addition to factory onesmaintenance facilities with self service supportThat presents bundle entries in understandable format

Implementing Self Service Customization of Resource BundlesResource Bundle implemented as class (extend ListResourceBundle) that read from databaseKeys are constructed as: <base_key>_<org_id>And even <base_key>_<org_id>_<user_id>JSF page refers to resources through intermediate bean: #{bundleHandler[‘baseKey’]}The bundleHandler bean first tries user specific key; if not found then org key and then base keyIt can also access several resource bundles – first the dynamic, database based one with overrides

Custom(izing) fieldsSome fields are never used by some organizations and are therefore ‘in the way’or they may even be legally forbidden in a country!Every organization finds the application lacking with one or more fieldsbut no two organizations ahree on which fields…To allow optimal customization, a SaaS application ideally allowsCustomization of standard itemsAddition of custom items embedded in pagesAnd associated with data records like ‘regular’ items

Application Settings for customizing application behaviorSome Application Behavior is developed as dynamically configurableThrough Preferences or Application SettingsDisplay: Locale, Format, Units for Height and Weight (converter parameters), feature on/offBusiness logic: Default Values for new records, Validation parameters, Field & Button AuthorizationStyling: Images, Fonts, Colors, Skins/ThemesSettings can be configured at Factory (default), Organization and User levelAt run-time through self service pages

Integrating Application Settings during development#{user.settings['NAME']}

Application Settings Data ModelApplication SettingsCustomized Settings* Nameo Factory Valueo Allowable Valueso Descriptiono Data Typeo Level Updatableo Updatable By* OrgIdo Valueo UserIdo Commentmm/dd/yyyyDate Formatdd-mm-yyyydd-mm-yyUsePhotoNYYMetric/ImperialmN…i

Application PersonalizationWe are all individualsWe are all individualsWe are all individualsWe are all individualsWe are all individualsWe are all individualsWe are all individualsWe are all individualsWe are all individualsWe are all individualsWe are all individualsI’m not…

Personalization Features – My… optionsMy Navigation HistoryMy Favorites (quick links, bookmarks)My own custom properties (‘flex fields’)My Date Format, Weight/Height units, Currency, Default ValuesMy lingo in titles, labels, prompts & messagesPersonalized Menu-structure… (my logo!)

Demo SaaS style Customization in JSFRun Time Management of Organization specific Resource BundlesChange the boilerplate text defined in the factoryCreate organization and user specific resourcesInfluencing application behavior through application settings at organization levelConfigure date format patternSpecify customized highlight definitionsToggle between user/organisation/factory scope

Run Time form-customizationOne application, multiple marketing labelsEach label requires a slightly different set of items – in a potentially different sequenceTo be defined and applied at run-timeSolution:After the JSF component tree is built in memory, let a JSF PhaseListener traverse it andSet rendered to falseChange the order of panelFormLayout childrenbased on the current context and the meta data

Run Time form-customizationDesign time base editionApply Marketing Label XApply Marketing Label Y

Run Time form-customizationDefine label specific settings

ADF Customization facilitiesRun Time ‘Change Persistence’ADF Change Persistence: built-in run-time customizations for several componentsTable, Collapsible/Disclosable Panels, Panel SplitterChange persistence can also be leveraged programmatically for custom run-time changeschanging an attribute value, adding or removing a facet, adding or removing a child component, reordering child components, moving a child component to a different parent

ADF Customization facilitiesDesign time ADF CustomizationDeveloper uses declarative customizationStart with the base applicationCreate specialized versions of XML based application artefacts like JSF page definitionFor every possible context in one or more dimensionsAt run time: users work with an application specially customized based on the actual contextMultiple versions of artefactsare managed in the MDS repository

ADF Customization facilitiesRun time WebCenter ComposerApplication manager or content editor can ‘edit’ the application at run timeAdd or remove items in customizable regionsRich content elements, portletsand registered taskflowsEdit content, configure portlets, rearrange itemsCreate new pages with dynamic content items

Multi-version SaaS ApplicationPre Oracle Database 11gR2: tough!separate database schemas and dynamic data source selectionWith Oracle Database 11gR2: easy!Using Edition Based RedefinitionMultiple versions of database objects in the same schema – on a common set of tablesThe application (version) specifies at connect time which ‘edition’ of the database to useCome to my session S310492 Monday 17:30 - 18:30, Moscone South, Room 305

Parallel Application VersionsApplication XVERSION 1Application XVERSION 2Release 2Release 3Base Release

SOA across the cloudSaaS ASaaS BCMSSocial APIinternetinternalLDAPWorkflowEngineApp DApp CValidationServiceService APIService APICMSEmailIMFax34

Integration and SOA across the cloudService API as programmatic alternative to UIRSS, SOAP, RESTEvent Listener registration to be notified by SaaSService Registration (Dependency Injection) Authentication/Authorization, Translation, Validation, Workflow, CommunicationIdentity cross referencing (SaaS & local identifier)Deep Link API for context sensitive navigationUI Services (Portlets) to fit into Mashups & PortalsData Export, Synch & Import – bulk facilities“internet service bus” – integrating multiple SaaSs35

SOA across the cloud: data & operations36SaaS Aservice dependencyinjectionSaaS BCMSSocial APIExportService APIService APIRSSlistenerregistrationinternetinternalLDAPWorkflowEngineApp DApp CValidationServiceService APIService APICMSEmailIMFax

SOA across the cloud: UI / Navigation / Process/Presentation37SaaS BSaaS ADeep linkInterfaceCMSDeep linkInterfaceSocial APIPortlet APIHTMLPagesPortlet APIRSSRSSinternetinternalToDoNewsWorkflowEngineApp DApp CPortlet APIPortlet APIRSSCMSEmailIMFax

SaaS ASaaS Aservice dependencyinjectionSaaS BSaaS BDeep linkInterfaceCMSCMSDeep linkInterfacePortlet APIHTMLPagesPortlet APIExportRSSService APIService APIRSSRSSlistenerregistrationinternetinternetinternalinternalToDoNewsLDAPWorkflowEngineWorkflowEngineApp DApp CApp DApp CPortlet APIPortlet APIValidationServiceService APIService APIRSSCMSCMSEmailIMFaxEmailIMFax38

Publishing ADF Application as (remotely embeddable) Portlet

Publishing ADF Application as (remotely embeddable) PortletAny ADF Task Flow can be published as a standard (WSRP) PortletUsing WebCenter FrameworkWithout development restrictionsWell, … almost that isNote that ADF applicationscan consume remoteportlets as wellUsing WebCenterWebCenter(Remote Portlet Provider)

Demonstrating Deep Link Navigation41SaaS AHTMLPagesPortlet APITo Do list shows task “Handle promotion for Employee Scott”

Selecting this task will bring up a popup loaded through a deep link into SaaS A

Presenting the ‘Update Job’ page with the details of Scott loadedService APIRSSToDoNewsWorkflowEngine

Implementing Deep Linking in JSFURL like http://host/SaaSApp/UpdateJob/ScottCookie provides hook for Single Sign On ServletFilter intercepts and redirects to proper JSF page – after storing parameters in the requestJSF PhaseListener intercepts the request to the page and prepares the backing beansUsing the request parametersJSF page is rendered with proper data contextWhen the user is done, the JSF application could update the task by calling the workflow engine SAPIpublish a SaaS event42

Demonstrating the SaaS Service APISaaS AHTMLPagesCreate a new Employee Call the SaaS API to propagate the new employee recordRight after succesful transaction commitInspect the new record in the SaaS UIPortlet APIService APIRSSApp D

Demonstrating cross-cloud event listeners44SaaS APortlet APIRegister App D’s Update Employee service as Event Listener for SaaS event

Update a salary in the SaaS UI

Event is routed to the remote listener that calls the App D Service API that “does something with it”Service APIRSSlistenerregistrationApp DService APIDB

46Register Event Listener by calling the WebService

Castle in the Clouds: SaaS-Enabling Oracle ADF Faces Applications

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