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Web UI DDK Architecture Overview

Figure 1 illustrates the components of the Web UI DDK solution architecture. The diagram shows Web UI DDK Wizard in Siebel Tools and run-time components on the Java EE Web application server, the Web server, and the Siebel Server. It also shows the components involved in an external authentication scenario (LDAP).

Figure 1. Web UI DDK Architecture Overview

The Web UI DDK Wizard guides the Siebel application developer in creating the object definitions in the Siebel object repository and generates WSDL files, sample JSP Pages, and other Java artifacts that can be used by the Java Application Developer to render the custom user interface.

The sample JSP pages are based on the Siebel Web service infrastructure. Web services define the data that request and response messages exchange, the data processing requirements, and the data mapping to and from the underlying software applications. The Siebel Web service infrastructure receives standard XML messages from the Java EE Web application server environment and then invokes a business service or business process (workflow) to process the message. After processing requests, the Siebel Server returns a response message to the Java EE Web application server.

The Web UI DDK Wizard generates WSDL files for a given Siebel view. Java client proxies generated from the WSDL files contain APIs that a custom UI can use to set and get authentication and session information in SOAP headers. After a successful login, session and authentication information is passed in a session token included in the SOAP header. The session token is an encrypted version of the session ID and user credentials. The SWSE is responsible for parsing the inbound soap header to retrieve the session token and user credentials.

Web Service Dispatcher is a service that processes SOAP messages for Siebel Web services. It is responsible for parsing the SOAP envelope on request, generating the correct SOAP envelope for response, and formatting SOAP faults for response. It is also responsible for dispatching the XML data in the SOAP body to an appropriate business service or business process (workflow) as specified in the Inbound Web Service Administration view.

The UI Data Adapter and UI Data Sync services support managing Siebel data. Web services based on these business services expose a strongly typed interface that can be used for data manipulation and data retrieval operations.

In single sign-on implementations, the Access manager and LDAP server are responsible for authenticating requests and then forwarding them to the Java EE server.

The following bullets summarize the components shown in Figure 1:

• Web UI DDK Wizard. This wizard generates repository objects, Web services administrative data, WSDL (Web Service Definition Language) files, and sample JSP pages.

  For more information, see About the Web UI DDK Wizard.

• Proxy Generator. This component generates Java client proxies based on WSDL files produced by the DDK Wizard. The readme.txt file in the DDK Wizard's output folder has instructions for using the proxy generator.

  For more information about the readme.txt file, see Using the Readme File to Deploy Sample JavaServer Pages.

• Sample Pages. The DDK Wizard generates sample JavaServer pages that the Java developer can deploy and run in a custom-built Web application.

  For more information, see About the Sample JavaServer Pages.

• Custom Web Applications. These are customer-built Web applications using technologies from Oracle and IBM, such as Oracle Workshop for WebLogic or IBM WebSphere Studio Application Developer. These applications host JavaServer pages and perform tasks such as:
  • Preparing queries and making service calls.
  • Passing session tokens in requests and extracting fresh tokens from responses.
  • Handling exceptions coming from Web service proxy calls.
  • Handling retry logic when there are problems connecting to the Web server.
• Web Application Server (Java EE). This server hosts sample pages and custom Web applications.
• Session Management. A Siebel-supplied component on the Siebel Web Server Extension (SWSE) that handles session information and authentication information.

  For more information, see About Authentication and Session Management.

• Access Manager. Access Manager authenticates user credentials with LDAP, sets the security token in the request, and then forwards the token to the Java EE server.

  For more information, see About Authentication and Session Management

• Object Manager. The object manager provides the session environment in which the application runs, processes requests, and interacts with the following:
  • Web Service Dispatcher. A business service that processes SOAP messages for Siebel Web services. The Web Service Dispatcher is responsible for parsing the SOAP envelope on request, generating the correct SOAP envelope for response, and formatting SOAP faults for response. It also dispatches the XML data in the SOAP body to an appropriate business service or business process for processing.
  • UI Data Adapter. This adapter provides data access to business objects and business components, and exposes interfaces for performing operations such as insert, delete, update, and query.
  • UI Data Sync Services. These are business services, based on the UI Data Adapter class, that provide access to a given business object, such as account. UI Data Services are made available to custom-built Web applications by exposing them as Web services. You can either use preconfigured UI Data services or create new UI Data services.
  • LOV Service. When given an List of Values (LOV) name and language code, this service provides access to LOVs.
  • Session Access Service. This business service exposes simple operations, such as Ping and Echo, that can be used to start a session. It also exposes operations that can access profile attributes associated with a session.

    For more information about Web Service Dispatcher and UI Data Adapter, see Integration Platform Technologies: Siebel Enterprise Application Integration.

    For more information about the UI Data Sync, LOV, and Session Access services, see About Preconfigured Web Services.