Articles

Setting up the NetWeaver development environment (Part II)

2008-06-20T18:31:59Z

Overview

In this entry I describe the process of testing the NetWeaver development environment you set up in Part 1 by building and then deploying it on the Portal. We will use the most basic building block for Java iViews, the AbstractPortalComponent. I will show you how to create the iView, add it to a Portal page.

As a pre-requisite, make sure you have at least Java Developer and Content Administrator access in a Portal. If you have the opportunity to do so, I suggest you install the Full Java Edition of the preview edition of SAP NetWeaver as I outlined in my previous blog entry in this series.

Step 1. Build and deploy a simple Java iView

So if you've rolled up your sleeves, here are the steps to build and deploy a simple lava iView:

1. Create a Portal Project

i. File > New > Other and choose Portal Application > Create a Portal Application Project and click Next
ii. Type a name for the Project and leave the default project root folder as is and click Finish
iii. NDS will create a Project for you, complete with all the necessary folder structure

2. Create a Portal Object

i. File > New > Other and choose Portal Application > Create a Portal Application Object and click Next
ii. Select the Portal Project you created in Step 1 above and click Next
iii.Select AbstractPortalComponent and click Next. I will go over each component type listed in the screenshot below in detail in the next blog entry in this series.

[choosing AbstractPortalComponent]
iv. Type HelloPortalWorld as the name and type a package name such as com.yourcompany.something and click Next
v. NDS will automatically create and add the necessary files to your project. Additionally, it will automatically add generic code that is required by the Portal to these files. This is an extremely valuable time saving feature, as you can imagine!
vi. In the HelloPortalWorld.java file, add a couple of lines of response.write code as shown (the editor has autocomplete functionality and will try to give you valuable and time-saving suggestions)

[cool autocomplete for the code you write]
This is the code that I use for this simple Java iView:


 public void doContent(IPortalComponentRequest request, IPortalComponentResponse response)
    {
    	// just a couple of simple response.write() statements to write text

response.write("<h1>Hello Portal World!</h1>");
response.write("<p>Welcome to your first Portal Project. Congratulations!</p>");

     /* End of custom code 
	  All the rest of the code in this project is auto generated by NDS */

    }

vii. Save and click on Project > Rebuild Project (or Rebuild All)
viii. Click on the create and upload PAR file button or click on File > Export > PAR File and click Next
ix. Select the Portal environment you'd like to upload this project to and click Finish

If the upload worked, you will see a message at the bottom pane (Deploy Output view) indicating successful deployment. If it didn't work, pay close attention to the error message. Most likely messages have to do with either the server not running or the port being incorrect. Revisit the settings one more time to make sure they are correct. If you've followed the installation and configuration steps outlined in this and the previous blog in this series, the settings should be as follows:

J2EE server: localhost J2EE port: 3601

Portal Server: localhost Portal Port: 50000

If you use a user other than the default admin, you have to give that user Java Developer role to be able to upload and deploy the iView. I will write more on User Administration and Content Administration in a future entry.

If you are still encountering problems with the configuration try searching the SDN Forums for an answer or leave a comment below this entry.

Step 2: Creating the iView

If you have successfully deployed your first Java iView into the Portal, the next step is to verify it in the Portal by logging on and seeing if the PAR file actually made it to the Portal. If it did, you can create an iView based on the PAR file and place it on a Page. As I will be covering the details of Content Administration processes (such as creating Folders, Roles, Worksets, Pages, iViews) later in this series, I will list the steps here briefly for completion. I have created screenshots for these activities as well and I will email them to you if you are interested in looking at them.

i. Log on to the Portal with an account that has Content Administrator privileges
ii. Go to Content Administration > Portal Content and expand the Portal Content folder
iii. Within the Portal Content Folder choose a folder of your choice (or create a new folder) and from the context menu choose New from PAR > iView
iv. Select MyFirstPortalProject (or the name you gave it instead) and click Next
v. Give the iView a Name (say Hello Portal World! or whatever else that strikes your fancy) and an ID - both the Name and the ID can be changed later, the ID cannot contain spaces or illegal characters (use something out of the ordinary and you'll see which ones are illegal) and click Next
vi. The Summary page displays the details of what you've done so far and gives you chance to either Cancel or go back and amend something, in case you were day dreaming before, click Finish if you are satisfied
vii. Click OK and you're done!
viii. You can either right click on the iView you just created and click on Preview or add it to a page

[your first java iView]

Step 3. Customizing NDS to your liking

Now that you've installed and configured your NDS, you are ready to customize it to your liking so you can be as efficient as possible. Every developer has his or her own preferences when developing. NDS, which is really based on the Eclipse platform, offers you the most flexibility in customization that I have seen so far. Almost everything in NDS is controlled by Plug-ins. With the right plug-ins, you can actually build PHP or ColdFusion applications, write JavaScript code, develop in C/C++ or COBOL or whatever else is available these days. If there isn't already a plug-in for your particular need, you can build it yourself and extend the functionality of NDS. Granted NDS is already a highly customized environment with a lot of tools for SAP EP Developers, the only limit to how much more you can tweak it is your own imagination. That said, let's see how we do it.

The way NDS looks at any given time is determined by the Perspective or the View you've chosen. There are some predefined Perspectives and Views available to choose from. For example, if you choose the Web Dynpro Perspective, all the tools you need while working in a Web Dynpro project become available and all the tools you used in the above Java iView are hidden. Explore the various Perspectives and Views by clicking on Window > Open Perspective or Show View. You can further enhance the way a Perspective or a View looks by customizing it yourself. My next blog entry on Java development methodologies talks about the Perspectives available in NDS for SAP EP development in more detail.

Jar Class Finder

In addition to the Perspectives and Views, you can add tools to your NDS installation. One of the most widely used tools is the Jar Class Finder. There already are a lot of material written on it so, as an exercise, I'll leave you to do a quick SDN search for "Jar Class Finder" and find the two excellent blog entries on how to get, install and use the Jar Class Finder.

Summary

This part 2 of the 4th blog entry in the Beginning EP Development series concludes the installation, setup and configuration steps for SAP NetWeaver SP 15, Sneak Preview (Full Java Edition). If you've been following the series so far as a new EP developer, congratulations! You've come a long way! There's lots more work to do before you can be a confident developer. My next few entries will focus on the development methodologies a Portal developer can use.

Setting up the NetWeaver development environment (Part 1)

2008-06-10T18:05:21Z

Overview

In this entry I describe the process of setting up the NetWeaver development environment. If you've downloaded and installed the preview edition of EP and NDS as described in the last entry in this series, then you can do most of these activities yourself. If you're trying to configure your work installation of NDS, you may need the help of your System Administrator to provide the configuration parameters you'll need.

As a pre-requisite, make sure you have at least Java Developer, Content Administrator and some System Administrator access to an installation of the Portal. If you have the opportunity to do so, I suggest you install the Full Java Edition of the preview edition of SAP NetWeaver as I outlined in my previous blog entry in this series.

Step 1. First Steps and Workspace setup

One of the first steps after you've downloaded and installed SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio (NDS) is to configure a local workspace for your development environment. A workspace, as the name might suggest, is a space on your local computer (or a network drive) in which to store your work and any user specific settings. You can have only one workspace for NDS at a time. In other words, you can have more than one, but only be able to use one or the other. You can, however, change the workspace location at a later time, if need be.

When you launch NDS for the first time, you will be presented with a dialog box as shown in the screenshot below where you will select a default workspace (or change it to something else if you feel rebellious.

[choosing a folder for NDS workspace]

Once you've set it up, NDS will start and show you a welcome screen as shown below, showing you the default perspective of Resources (more on SAP NDS Perspectives below) and some links to the Help contained with the installation as a guide! What a nice gesture from the good folks at SAP, eh? Now you know why the installation took so long: you get a wealth of development resources right at your fingertips.

[The SAP NDS welcome screen]

The Help contained in NDS is an amazing, often overlooked, feature: it is all available to you locally on your PC and comes complete with examples, screenshots and the ability to let you search. The most updated version of this help is available online, of course, at http://help.sap.com/

[The SAP NDS Help screen. Note the search box on the top left]

Step 2. Configure Development environment

As you work with NDS, you will find that it is very customizable. Click on the Window > Preferences menu to access most of the customization options. There is a dizzying number of options available. Your safest bet is to stay with the default settings for most of them - but where's the fun in that, eh? Live a little and change the settings around to see how things change in this new environment. There is a "Restore Defaults" button on every screen where there are default settings set by the software installation!

Workspace

The workspace that you setup in the previous step is shown in the screenshot below. If you decide to change the workspace for whatever reason, you can do it on this screen and it will take effect once you've restarted NDS. As indicated in the screenshot, you can use a workspace other than your default, by using the "data" command line parameter.

[The default workspace for NDS.]

Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version

Another fundamental setting is the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) that you use for your development. As of this release of NetWeaver, stick with j2sdk1.4.2_08 as recommended by SAP. As you can see from the screenshot, you can add multiple JRE's here. You may add them here if you have a need to develop something other than for the SAP Enterprise Portal using NDS, which is really based on IBM's Eclipse platform. So if you wanted to write a Java application or an applet, using the latest Java Swing classes, you can do so by adding a newer JRE to your instance of NDS. I told you NDS is customizable, but this is nothing. Wait till you see what else you can do!

[The default JRE for NDS.]

J2EE Engine settings

The SAP J2EE Engine setting is another one that needs a quick look. If you've installed the Preview Edition of the NDS and EP on your Desktop or Local, you may just leave the default values set by the installation, server name localhost on port 3601. Alternatively, if you're developing from your PC but the J2EE server is on a separate server, you will need to enter the name of the server (possibly the full qualifying name such as myportalserver01.mycompany.com instead of the default localhost value.

[The default J2EE for NDS.]

Portal Settings, multiple environments

You can setup multiple Portal environments into your NDS for quick deployment of your applications. For example, you can configure NDS for your local, Development and QA testing environments and deploy applications directly. Normally, you wouldn't deploy directly to the QA environment, since the recommended method is to export content once (from the Development environment) and to import twice (into QA testing and Production environments), but that's a totally different discussion. You don't have to deploy directly from NDS. You also have the option of uploading your Portal project PAR files from within the Portal (from Java Developer > PRT Admin Console or from System Administration > Support > Portal Runtime > Archive Uploader). In SP15, there is a cool Portal Archive Deployer and Remover page under Java Developer.

[Multiple Portal Environments in NDS.]

Step 3. Test and troubleshoot your settings

There is only one way to really test your settings: build and deploy something simple. If the process works, it generally means that your configuration settings are correct and you can breathe a sigh of relief. If, however, you messed up (notice how I remove myself from the equation) there will be some troubleshooting to do. Part 2 of this entry, will talk about how to build a Hello Portal World Java iView, just to test the installation and configuration.

Summary

This blog entry covered a lot of ground for a beginner. You have now configured a development environment for yourself to start developing for the Portal. The next part of this entry will walk you through building and deploying a simple Java iView, just to test your settings.

Installing the SAP NetWeaver Portal

2008-05-11T04:16:39Z

Overview

In this blog entry, I will cover the entire process of downloading, installing and configuration the preview version of the SAP Enterprise Portal. Currently, SAP NetWeaver 04s SP15 is available for download from right here on the SDN web site. This is a 90-day evaluation installation intended to give you a flavor of what EP is like. The Sneak Preview edition will give you access to the following products:

SAP Web Application Server Java 6.40 (J2EE Engine)
MaxDB 7.5 database
SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio 2.0.15
SAP Enterprise Portal
SAP Content Management and Collaboration
SAP NetWeaver Developer Cockpit
Adobe Document Services
Composite Applications Framework 2.0 and Guided Procedures 2.0

Take advantage of this opportunity. As I indicated before, there is nothing better for a beginning SAP EP Developer than to practice on the real thing. To get intimately familiar with EP, you should download, install and configure it yourself on your Desktop or Laptop, even if you have access to it on your company's server - unless you've already installed it a few times at work, then you can safely skip this entry.

Step 1. Evaluate minimum installation requirements

First and foremost, evaluate the installation requirements and make sure you meet the minimum recommendations otherwise you may run into unexpected problems with no one to blame except yourself. If your system lacks in any of the stated requirements, save yourself the grief and upgrade before attempting the install. The download page lists the hardware/software requirements in detail, but here's the essence of it:

Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional or Windows Server 2003
NTFS-File systems
Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher or Firefox 1.0 or higher
At least 1 GB RAM, 2 GB are recommended
Intel Pentium III/1.1 GHz or higher (or compatible)
6 GB hard disk space recommended
High-resolution monitor (1024x768 or higher, 256 colors)

Step 2. Download

Now that you've ensured your PC has what it takes to run the Portal (or have had to upgrade), you can download the preview edition by going to the SDN download page:

https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/downloads

You do need to be a member on SDN to be able to download, so go ahead and sign up, if you still haven't. It's fast and FREE!

Now that you've signed up, download the Full Java Edition (current release SAP NetWeaver 04 SP15), which consists of the following four rar files (rar is just a compressed file format which you can decompress using winrar archiver):

[the download consists of these four files, total size of the files is approximately 4.93 Gigabytes]

The downloaded files alone take up 4.93 Gigabytes of diskspace! Depending on your bandwidth, the download can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours - this is where you wish you'd signed up for a high-speed Internet connection.

Step 3. Prepare for Installation

Hopefully, the first two steps were relatively painless and straightforward. Preparing for installation is very important - take the time and prepare properly or you can waste a lot of time and effort.

When you've decompressed the downloaded rar files, you'll notice that there is a DOC folder which is where the installation instructions are. Open the index.htm file located within the html folder inside the DOC folder to view the instructions.

The important items to note from these instructions are as follows:

If this is the first time you're installing the Portal on this computer, all you have to do is ensure your PC meets the minimum hardware/software requirements. If you've installed the Portal or any other SAP product on this PC before, please ensure that you uninstall the previous installation of the Portal and ensure that none of the systems are called "J2E". It so happened that I had installed the previous preview edition of the Portal on the same PC.

Uninstall the previous version of the SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio via the Add/Remove Programs applet from the Control Panel.

To uninstall the previous version of the J2EE server, run the uninstall program located at usr\sap\J2E\JC00\uninstsap.exe.

Although everything uninstalled relatively easily, MAXDB was proving to be a bit sticky and no matter how I tried to uninstall it, I kept getting a message that an instance called J2E is still present and I'd have to get rid of it before uninstalling it. After some searching I found an answer on this SDN Forum entry. This is where I advise you to look for an answer for ANY issue you may be experiencing with any SAP product on SDN Forum or post it as a question if you haven't found it already posted.

Excerpt from the Forum Entry:


run this command in a dos-box to find out what is installed:
dbmcli inst_enum
dbmcli db_enum
inst_enum just writes out the installed software.
db_enum writes out database instances which are on the host.
To get rid of the database instances you can run this command:
dbmcli -d DB1 -u control,control db_stop
dbmcli -d DB1 -u control,control db_drop
DB1 has to be replaced by the true database name.

dbmcli -d J2E -u control,control db_stop
dbmcli -d J2E -u control,control db_drop
dbmcli -d J2E -u control,control db_state

Also, edit the file C:\WINNT\system32\drivers\etc\services (Windows 2000) or C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\services (Windows XP). It must not include an entry for the ports 3601, 3201 and 50000 to 50030. A possible entry can be excluded by using the hash symbol (#).

And finally, if no DHCP server is available on your network (which dynamically determines the IP address) or your computer is not connected to any network, you need to install the virtual interface adapter MS Loopback Adapter (detailed instructions are included with the download - see the index.htm file in the DOC/html folder).

Step 4. Create any backups

If your PC has important data, back it up, PRIOR to proceeding with the installation. Enough said!

Step 5. Install

There are a few very good resources available on SDN that detail the complete SAP Preview Edition installation process, which you can use along with this entry. I have listed the most useful of these in the resources section below.

To start the install, double-click on the SAPinst.bat file located in the NWSneakPreviewSP15

[to start the install process click on the SAPinst.bat]

The installation process begins with a License Agreement. All the values that need to be entered during the installation are present in the documentation included with the downloaded files in the DOC folder. The installation does take a long time (it took more than two hours to complete on my PC). You will have to install the NetWeaver Developer Studio as well as the two database administration tools manually. The installations are straightforward and the instructions are included with the download in the DOC folder.

I took screenshots during the entire installation process and ended up with 100 images. They are a bit too many to include here. I can email them to any of the readers if they need them for any reason. Just leave a comment with your email address or email me.

When the installation has completed, you will see the following icons four icons on your desktop. I suggest you add the last two yourself. One is to the Portal web page (http://localhost:50000/irj/portal) and the other is to start the J2EE Visual Administrator tool, located at usr\sap\j2e\jc00\j2ee\admin\go.bat

[the shortcut icons created after the installation has completed]

The SAP Management Console is based on the Windows 2000 or Windows XP MMC tool and is used to start and stop the J2EE server and the Portal Database instance. It takes a LONG time to start the server so you have to be patient.

[the SAP Management Console tool to start and stop the server]

When the Portal J2EE server has started up, you can log into the Portal with your admin username and admin password by going to the Portal URL: http://localhost:50000/irj/portal

[the SAP EP logon screen]

Viola! You've successfully logged on to the SAP Enterprise Portal! If, however, you were not successful and ran into some problems, don't despair. Check on the SDN Forums and post a new question if you no one else has posted that particular problem.

Resources

SDN Blog Entries:

A Visual Installation Guide on Sneak Preview SAP NetWeaver 04 Java Edition
A Visual Installation Guide on Sneak Preview SAP NetWeaver 04 Java Slim Edition
(Re)Installing Sneak Preview Made Easy - Part 1

SDN Community Contribution:

Installation of SAP NetWeaver 04 SP15

Summary

Overall the installation process for the preview edition of SAP EP 6, is pretty straightforward. This is particularly true if you've prepared yourself (and your PC). Remember to back up your system, just in case things don't go as planned and reserve a lot of time aside before attempting to install.

Overview of the Content Development Process

2008-05-06T01:20:01Z

Background Information

The SAP Enterprise Portal is a web interface for SAP NetWeaver and non-SAP content delivered seamlessly. From the user's perspective, its an extremely convenient way to get to all kinds of applications and data in one easy to use and consistent format via a web browser. The technology allows content from anywhere, using a Single Sign-On to be customized for the ultimate user experience. From the developer's perspective, the opportunities are endless. A developer can use this platform to incorporate data from various sources - SAP, databases, the web, Microsoft Outlook and IBM Lotus Notes, for example into a Portal page.

What is content and how can it be developed?

Portal Content consists of Applications that run in the Portal Runtime (Java) or the Web Dynpro Runtime. I will cover the details of Web Dynpro applications in another blog entry. Applications can also be created using the Business Server Pages (within the R/3 system using ABAP and HTML) and .Net. I will also explore these in another blog entry.

What is a Java Applications in the Portal

Java applications in the Portal are basically made up of either Components or Services or both. One or more Portal Components can be used to display HTML in an iView - which is a basic building block of Portal applications. A component typically extends a class called AbstractPortalComponent - which is part of the Portal Runtime API:

com.sapportals.portal.prt.component.AbstractPortalComponent

A Portal Service provides functionality that can be used by a portal component or another service. A service typically implements the IService interface - which is also part of the PRT API:

com.sapportals.portal.prt.service.IService

The Structure of a Java Application

Portal applications are stored in PAR files (which are just zipped files with a .par extension). A PAR file contains web resources, Java classes and a deployment descriptor called portalapp.xml. As a developer, you'll get used to ensuring that your applications have the following general folder hierarchy:

This is the file structure of a typical Portal Application

The portalapp.xml file above (known as the deployment descriptor) is probably the most important part of the PAR file. Even if a component or service is provided with the PAR file, if its not in the portalapp.xml file, its as if it does not exist. Therefore, I suggest that you use the NetWeaver Developer Studio (NDS) software to develop your Java applications as this software creates the appropriate deployment descriptor for you automagically.

The Deployment Descriptor

The Deployment Descriptor consists of four hierarchical sections, subsections and properties of each, enclosed within the parent application. Everything has to be between the opening and closing application tags. The four sections are application-config, components, services and registry.

Here is an example of what a typical portalapp.xml file looks like:

<application>

  <application-config>

    <property name="releasable" value="true"/>

  </application-config>

  <components>

    <component name="BeginEPDevelopment">

      <component-config>

        <property name="ClassName" value="com.yourcompany.BeginEPDevelopment"/>

      </component-config>

      <component-profile>

        <property name="diplayHistory" value="10">

          <property name="plainDescription" value="BlogEntries"/>

          <property name="personalization" value="dialog"/>

        </property>

        <property name="diplayStyle" value="list">

          <property name="type" value="select[list,entries]"/>

          <property name="personalization" value="dialog"/>

        </property>

      </component-profile>

    </component>

  </components>
 

  <services>

    <service name="BeginEPDevelopmentService">

      <service-config>

        <property name="startup" value="true"/>

        <property name="className" value="com.yourcompany.BeginEPDevelopmentService"/>

      </service-config>

      <service-profile>
        <property name="BlogComments" value="Display"/>

      </service-profile>

    </service>

  </services>

</application>

Now that we've seen what a portal Java application consists of, let's take a quick overview of the steps involved in creating this content. I'll describe each step of the process in more detail in the next few entries in this series.
Creating Java Portal Content, Step by Step Overview:

   1. Create a Portal Application Project in NDS:
         1. File > New > Other... > Portal Application > Create a Portal Application Project
         2. Click Next and type a name for the project and click Finish
   2. Create a Portal Application Object - for this step one of the following items can be created, depending on the need:
         1. Portal Component
         2. Portal Service
         3. Portal Web Service
   3. Once the Portal Objects have been developed, the project is ready to be deployed either directly from NDS or uploaded into the portal manually.
         1. File > Export > PAR File and click Next
         2. select the project you wish to deploy and click Next
         3. ensure the correct PAR file is selected, select if you wish to include the source code and whether you wish to deploy the project right from NDS and click Finish
         4. If you elected to deploy directly from NDS, you'll need to make sure that NDS is configured to do this (a future blog entry in this series describes the details)
         5. If you elected to manually upload the PAR file into the portal, log into the portal with an account that has Developer access (a future blog entry in this series covers the details of portal security) and go to Java Development > Tools > PRT Admin Console and click on Browse from Archive Uploader and select the PAR file to upload and click on Upload.
   4. Create the iView based on the PAR file
         1. Log in to the portal with Content Administrator access and navigate to Content Administration > Portal Content
         2. Right click on the folder in the Portal Content Directory (PCD) in which you'd like the iView to be created and select New from PAR > iView from the context menu
         3. Select the PAR file uploaded in Step 3 above and click Next
         4. Select one of the components on the next screen and click Next
         5. Type an iView name and ID and click on Next and Finish
         6. You can right click on the iView you just created and click on Preview from the context menu to see what the iView looks like or attach it to a page and workset to display it on a portal page (a future blog entry in this series describes the details).

Development Methods

Now that we've seen the structure of a typical portal application, let's look at the different methods of developing Java applications for the SAP EP. There are other ways of developing content (such as Web Dynpro), which are not discussed in this entry. If you're using NDS for development, there are easy to use tools and wizards available for speeding up the initial development process. I strongly suggest using these, as they will make your life easier as an EP Developer. I will briefly go over each of them, but for detailed descriptions of each, please refer to the Help provided with NDS, under the SAP EP Plugins Guide section. Note that we'll be using the EP perspective in NDS for these methods.

Here's a screenshot of the different component and service types currently available from NDS by default.

These wizards can be accessed from the File > New > Other... and selecting Portal Application followed by Create a New Portal Application Object

Portal Components come in four flavors:

   1. AbstractPortalComponent
   2. AbstractTestComponent
   3. JSPDynPage
   4. DynPage

AbstractPortalComponent is the most basic portal component that can used to create an iView for the SAP EP. This is also the fastest way to create a simple Java iView to display some content on the Portal.

This wizard generates some generic Java code that you can build upon. The only method of interest is the doContent() method, where content is created. For example:


public void doContent(IPortalComponentRequest request, IPortalComponentResponse response)
    {
    response.write("Java Development for SAP EP");
    }
}

AbstractTestComponent is a basic portal test component that can used to test applications using the portal framework.

DynPage is the most basic portal component type which can be used to build an HTMLB iView. This wizard creates a doInitialization() method (which is typically executed once per user), a doProcessAfterInput() method (which typically contains the input handling code, if any) and a doProcessBeforeOutput() method (which is where the GUI components and any other output is created).

JSPDynPage is a more elaborate version of the DynPage method above. It creates a JSP file and, optionally, a Bean class.

The code generated by this wizard is almost identical to the code for DynPage objects, except the presentation is handled by a JSP page and an optional Bean class is created. This means that the doProcessBeforeOutput methods are slightly different and there is an additional JSP file and an optional Bean class file. There are obviously other differences (such as the differences in the portalapp.xml file).

Portal Services only have a single wizard that can be used to create them. Portal Services created using this wizard, implement the IService interface.

Portal Web Service gives you three options to either convert a Portal Service into a Portal Web Service, use a Web Service to create a Portal Service, which gives lets you use either Client side or Server side web services.

Summary

In this entry I've attempted to give a whirlwind overview of the development process, target at the newbie SAP EP Developer. I have only touched on development of Java content, which is one of the many methods available for EP Development. In the next two entries of the Beginning EP Development series, I will cover Installing and Configuring the Preview Edition of EP and Setting up the NetWeaver development environment, which will set the stage for some serious development. Stay tuned!

Beginning EP Development

2008-04-12T22:16:52Z

Introduction

There is no shortage of tutorials and how-to documents on various subjects available for EP Developers. It can still be a daunting task, just locating all the information from the different sources and making sense of it all. If you are new to the wonderful world of SAP Enterprise Portal, this series of blog entries is designed to fill in the gap most felt by newbies.

What is EP Development?

EP Development consists of developing applications (known as iViews) that run in the Portal. These applications are typically built using Java technologies such as J2EE (JSP or Java Server Pages and EJBs (Enterprise Java Beans) , Web Dynpro, HTMLB for Java, XML, Web Services and more. Some development is also done using the PDK for .Net. The applications have to be able to run in the Portal, which runs on a Web Application Server, a J2EE engine that uses the Portal Runtime and, optionally, a Web Dynpro runtime. This requires that the developer be fairly familiar with Java.

The following diagram depicts how content can be developed for the Portal and what skills are required for each method.

The slide shows that developing custom content for the Portal requires skills in Java or .Net or ABAP/BSP, where as the Visual Composer or Web Dynpro technologies auto-generate most of the code.

Source: (Adobe PDF file)

What skills should I acquire?

Java programming skills - with exposure to JSP, Servlets and Beans - are the most desirable for an EP developer. Additionally JavaScript, XML, Web Services, ABAP and even HTML will come in handy.

Which training courses should I take?

Currently, the following courses are offered from SAP Education that are targeted for SAP EP Developers and Consultants. I will write more about them in future blog entries.

JA100 - Java Start-up Kit - Classroom, 5 days
EP150 - Java Development for the SAP Enterprise Portal and KM (4.7) - Classroom, 5 days
JA300 - J2EE Start-up Kit - Classroom, 5 days
JA331 - SAP Java Open Integration Technologies - Online
JA310 - Java Web Dynpro - Classroom, 5 days
TJA320 - Programming with SAP Java Persistence Framework - Classroom, 5 days

Which books should I invest in?

Although there is no definitive book for a beginner EP developer, the following are excellent books to get started. They will serve as good desk reference in the future.

    * SAP Enterprise Portal: Technology and Programming
    * Inside Web Dynpro for Java
    * Java Programming with the SAP Web Application Server

What tools do I need?

Every beginning developer needs the proper development environment to be able to do lots of practice developing. You can take all the training and read all the books, but there is no substitute for hands-on practice, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. The IDE (integrated development environment) for Portal content is the NDS (NetWeaver Developer Studio). NDS is built on the open-source IBM technology called Eclipse. In addition to NDS, you also need access to a Portal. At a minimum you need access as a Developer to be able to access the PDK (Portal Development Kit) within the Portal and to deploy applications you build. It wouldn't hurt to also get Content Administrator access to the Portal so you can see how iViews will look in the Portal once you've developed them. I suggest actually downloading and installing your own copy of the Portal and NDS so you can get full hands-on practice. You can download both NDS and the Portal from SDN. See How do I get started? below.

Where are the links to the resources I need?

Portal Architecture
Portal Development Guide
Portal Administration Guide
SAP NetWeaver Developer's Guide
SDN Developers Resources
SDN study material
SDN Developer Forums
SDN Blogs

What to do get started?

Download the preview edition of the SAP Enterprise Portal and NWDS. I recommend the Java Edition (which is almost 3 Gigabytes). Trust me, its worth every byte!

Sneak Preview SAP NetWeaver 04 Download

In a future blog entry (number 3 in this series of entries), I will walk you through installing the preview edition of the Portal and NDS. But if you can't wait until then or feel adventurous, go ahead and install it yourself. A word of caution: before attempting to install the sneak preview on your PC, pay close attention to the minimum requirements, both hardware and software, to ensure everything works.

What to expect next?

   1. Introduction (this entry)
   2. Overview of the content development process
   3. Installing and configuring the preview edition of EP
   4. Setting up the NetWeaver development environment
         1. Part I
         2. Part II
   5. Java development methodologies
   6. Web Dynpro quick start tips
   7. Customizing look and feel
   8. Navigation and Taxonomy
   9. Understanding Content Administration
10. Portal Security
11. Top 10 things to know for an EP implementation project
12. Top 10 pitfalls to avoid in an EP implementation project
13. Cool tricks in EP development

You have just embarked upon a journey as a newbie SAP EP Developer. This blog series aims to make your journey as rewarding as possible. In this entry, I attempted to define what EP development is, what skills should you as a novice EP developer acquire, which training courses might suit your needs, which books to get, which tools and online resources you should check out and finally, what to do to get started?