The Programmable Event Interface (PEI) framework defines a set of user actions that fire programmatic events that can be used to execute custom code without editing the portal source code. This approach allows you to upgrade the portal as service packs become available without losing your customizations.
A PEI is a Java or C# interface that defines event methods. For example, the ILoginActions PEI defines methods that are called when a user logs into the portal (e.g., On BeforeLogin, OnAfterLogin). For a listing of available PEIs, see Step 1: Choosing a PEI.
The PEI framework provides interfaces only. To customize the portal using a PEI, you must create a class that implements the PEI (Step 2: Implementing the PEI), and make the class available to the portal using Dynamic Discovery (Step 3: Deploying a Custom Project).
Note: The events available via PEIs are fired only in response to a user's direct action on the portal. If an action occurs as a result of some automated process or a direct call to the Portal Server, PEI methods are not called. For a thorough explanation of how PEIs are executed by the portal, see Lifecycle of a PEI.
Prerequisite:
These pages provide instructions on how to create and deploy PEIs to customize portal functionality, including step-by-step instructions and sample code for creating a new Login PEI.
For an explanation of how PEIs work, see Lifecycle of a PEI. For a list of the interfaces and methods used with PEIs, see the PEI API documentation (Java | .NET).
Next: Step 1: Choosing a PEI