Introduction to Plumtree Enterprise Web Development

The Plumtree Enterprise Web combines portal, content management, collaboration, integration and search technologies. By combining services and information from existing enterprise systems through open integration technologies and providing key application services, the Enterprise Web allows you to build solutions that integrate diverse platforms and systems.

For an explanation of Enterprise Web components, see Portal Architecture Overview. For an introduction to portal UI customization, see Customizing the Portal UI. For a full list of topics, see the table of contents.

Every component in the Enterprise Web is designed to provide a personalized experience for each organization, and for specific groups and users. The tools included in the Enterprise Web Development Kit (EDK) allow you to customize these components and create powerful applications to meet the needs of your organization.

As shown in the image above, the EDK can be divided into three parts:

• UI Tools allow you to personalize, redesign, and make additions to the portal page.
• The Adaptive Portlet Toolkit allows you to build cohesive applications within a portal page. Adaptive portlets work dynamically to react to user actions and refresh content within the page. For an introduction to portlets and details on adaptive portlets, see Developing Portlets.
• The UI Customization Toolkit facilitates common customizations to the portal user interface. A wide range of customization can be accomplished without writing any code, using the tools provided. For details and instructions, see Customizing the Portal UI.
 
• Remote APIs can be used in portlets and other applications and Web services to access portal functionality from a separate server. For an introduction, see Extending Server Functionality with Remote APIs. The Plumtree Remote Client (PRC) provides APIs for a range of portal functionality.
  • The Portal Server provides the framework for applications and integrates Enterprise Web components into a cohesive Web-based work environment. Extending Portal Server Functionality provides access to key administrative components, including Object Management, Portlet Operations, Knowledge Directory Operations, User Operations, and Portal Jobs.
  • Plumtree Search Server indexes and searches all the documents, information, applications, communities, discussions, Web sites and other content accessible through the portal. Extending Search Server Functionality allows you to query document (card), folder, user and Community objects using a standard request-response model.
  • Plumtree Collaboration Server helps people to work together via the Web, supporting tasks, projects, communities, calendars, discussions, and document sharing with version control. Extending Collaboration Server Functionality allows you to create, query and manage Collaboration Server projects, tasks, documents, and discussions from remote applications.
  • Plumtree Content Server provides the Web publication tools required to deploy content-driven applications, like a customer support knowledge base or sales support center. Extending Content Server Functionality allows you to embed Content Server components and functions into any Web application delivered through the Plumtree framework..
   
• Integration Web Service APIs are used to incorporate components from existing enterprise systems into the portal and its related applications. For an introduction, see Developing Integration Web Services and Portal Applications.
  • Portlets provide a way to integrate content and functionality from external systems in the portal page. As noted above, adaptive portlets can be used to build cohesive applications. For an introduction to portlets and details on adaptive portlets, see Developing Portlets.
  • Crawler Web Services (CWS) index content in the portal and provides multiple ways to access or import files from external repositories. Search Web Services (SWS) allow you to search existing indexes on external repositories. For details, see Developing Crawlers.
  • Authentication Web Services (AWS) define portal users and groups and Profile Web Services (PWS) define portal user properties from existing enterprise systems. For details, see Developing Authentication and Profile Web Services.

Together, EDK components provide a rich set of tools for building applications and personalizing the Enterprise Web. Before beginning any development, it is important to understand the portal architecture and the Plumtree development environment.

For information on UI customization, see Customizing the Portal UI. For a full list of topics, see the table of contents. For an introduction to how the portal works, see Portal Architecture Overview.

Next: Portal Architecture Overview