WSO2 Gadget Server
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New Decade New Portal Paul Fremantle January 2010
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In this webinar, Paul Fremantle, CTO of WSO2, explains the benefits of the Gadget approach to portals, and also showing how you can get started with building effective portals fast. Find out about the best portal for the next decade.
Transcript of WSO2 Gadget Server
New DecadeNew Portal
Paul FremantleJanuary 2010
New portal? I haven’t sorted out the old one yet!
What’s wrong with existing Portals?
Portal
ESB
Database
SAP
Financials
Legacy
RSS
Content
Portlet
Portlet
Portlet
Portlet
Browser
Existing Portal Servers
• Require a single Portal Administrator to manage the available portlets– Including deployment, test, etc
• Require Portal Developers to write HTML, JavaScript AND Java, C#, VB, etc– Not a pure “web” solution– Require more expensive and harder to find skills
• Not designed with SOA model in mind• Complex and heavyweight
Common Enterprise Architecture
WSO2 Enterprise Platform
WSO2 Gadget Server 1.0
Gadget Server Model
Browser
HTML
IFRAME
HTML, CSS, JS
Gadget XML
Gadget XML(remotely hosted)
HTML, JS, CSS
Standard JS APIs
PersonalGadget
List
Gadget Server
• Language neutral – no need for Portlet programmers– Pure HTML + Javascript / AJAX– Google Gadget Specification is widely used because of iGoogle– Hundreds of available Gadgets and samples
• Full personalization of Gadgets – Drag and drop– Multiple tabs– Add Gadgets from the repository or by URL– Anonymous mode can be used for public access
• Support for Enterprise capabilities– Existing user directories – e.g. LDAP, ActiveDirectory– Enterprise Gadget Repository to manage available gadgets– Can restrict to authorized gadgets or allow open web-based gadgets
Dashboard example built with Gadgets
Understanding Gadgets
• The Google Gadget Specification is an open specification for– building dynamic web content, – used in the iGoogle homepage
• Gadgets deployed in WSO2 Gadget Server are HTML andJavascript wrapped in XML
• Unlike old-style portals, Gadgets don't have to be installed bythe administrator before use
– instead, there is an option which allows gadgets to be loaded over the network from any website
• The result is that your users can choose from hundreds of ready written tools without needing the time of an administrator
• Because gadgets are simple to write using standard webtechnologies, your developers or external teams can quickly and effectively create task-specific tools and reports
The Enterprise Gadget Repository
• One of the most important features of the WSO2 Gadget Serveris the Enterprise Gadget Repository
• This is where users can pick and choose gadgets to be added to their individual portal pages
• This makes it simple to create a default home page for eachuser, and
• provides users with a simple catalogue of enterprise gadgets
• In addition users can comment and rate these gadgets– helping everyone get the best out of the system
Architecture Overview
• The Gadget Server is a pure Java application, – running on JDK 1.5 and 1.6, and – tested on Windows, Linux, Solaris and AIX
• Based on the WSO2 Carbon framework
• The gadget display engine of the WSO2 Gadget Server is powered by Apache Shindig
– an Open Source reference implementation of the Google Gadgets Specification
Architecture Overview
• The Gadget Server is – scalable, – clusterable and – enterprise ready
• Supports OpenID and Infocard single-signon technologies– Works with the WSO2 Identity Server, Microsoft Geneva and other
standards based login systems
• The administrator has a single console that manages the whole product including
– monitoring, – configuring permissions and – adding gadgets to the Enterprise Gadget Repository
Why Gadgets are good for SOA
• Inherently distributed– Gadgets can be hosted along side the services they work with
• Gadgets love AJAX– And AJAX is the right way to build SOA front-ends– Web client talks to services using the same interfaces that services
talk to services• Modular User Interfaces
– … for modular applications• Separation of concerns
• How does WSO2 plan to take advantage?– Every service will support ?gadget
• Automatic tryit for services as a gadget– Sample gadgets for Data Services – Gadget UI for WS-HumanTask– Our preferred approach for SOA UIs
Why Gadgets are good even if you don’t have SOA
• Simple easy to use approach for portals• Lots of developer resources • Hundreds of examples and ready-written gadgets• Using the core skills every web developer knows
The WSO2 Gadget Server Anonymous Mode
User Registration
User Registration
• Users can register using– Standard user name and password,– OpenId– Infocard
• User self registration can be disabled if required
• Users can be manually added by the Administrator using the Management Console
• External user stores can be used as well– LDAP– Active Directory– JDBC
Gadget layout and settings can be customized
Gadgets can have dynamic height
Gadgets can be maximized
Gadget Hosting in the Registry
• The Gadget Server comes with a built in Registry/Repository– Based on WSO2 core registry framework– Compatible with WSO2 Governance Registry– Production class, scalable and clusterable
• The Gadget XML and related resources can be hosted in the registry of the Gadget Server
– gadget.xml– Javascript, – Images, – Flash .swf files, etc.
• Most of the sample Gadgets shipped with the server are stored in the Registry
The Enterprise Gadget Repository
Enterprise Gadget Repository - Administration
Benefits
• Zero Licensing Fees• Interactive and Responsive• Personalization• Unified View• Increased Return on Investment• Cost Effective• Better user experience• Unified view of data and applications
Try it yourself!
http://gsdemo.wso2.org/
Resources
Company Website: http://wso2.com
Paul: [email protected]
Business Team: [email protected]
The Gadget Server homepage:http://wso2.org/projects/gadget-server
