Starting the Tour

 

Before you can start the tour, you or your system administrator must install WebLogic Commerce Server. For installation information, see the Installation Guide.

To see the templates and sample data from a Web browser, do one of the following tasks depending on the type of operating system you use:

• Prerequisite for Netscape 4.7x Users

• Access the Home Page from UNIX

• Access the Home Page from Windows

Then go to the last topic in this section:

• Overview of the Home Page

  Note: In this chapter, the product name is referred to as WebLogic Commerce Server. If you are licensed for BEA Campaign Manager for WebLogic, this product package includes WebLogic Commerce Server. For a licensing and packaging overview, see the section About the Product Licenses and This Tour.

 

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Prerequisite for Netscape 4.7x Users

The minimum required Netscape browser version is 4.70. If you are going to run the tour in the Netscape 4.7x browser, read this section. There are a few prerequisite steps. These steps do not apply if you are using the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser. This section also does not apply if you are using Netscape 6.0 and later versions.

The sample WLCS JSP templates do not work with cookies enabled for Netscape in the default configuration for the product. Before starting the tour, you must set the CookieDomain value in the Web application's weblogic.xml file and uncomment it.

The WLCS Web application's weblogic.xml file includes the following:

     <!--
     <session-param>
        <param-name>CookieDomain</param-name>
          <param-value>.mycompany.com</param-value>
     </session-param>
     -->

Before using the WLCS Web application in Netscape, remove the begin and end comment characters and change the CookieDomain parameter value in weblogic.xml from .mycompany.com to the domain name in which the application will be run.

The weblogic.xml file resides in the following directory:

WL_COMMERCE_HOME/config/wlcsDomain/applications/wlcsApp/wlcs/WEB-INF (UNIX)

WL_COMMERCE_HOME\config\wlcsDomain\applications\wlcsApp\wlcs\WEB-INF (Windows)

Important: After you make the change, you must restart the server if it is already running. For more information about starting the server and then opening the initial page of the sample application, see the next section.

Notes: Another option, of course, is disabling cookies in Netscape 4.7x in order to run the tour. However this approach is not practical in a live Web production environment because you cannot predict which browser the Web site's customers will use, or whether they will have cookies enabled or disabled. Therefore in production you must make the CookieDomain change in your Web application's weblogic.xml file.

In this chapter and in all of the product documentation, the variable WL_COMMERCE_HOME is used to represent the top-level of the product installation directory. By default, this location is c:\bea\WebLogicCommerce3.5 on Windows, and bea/WebLogicCommerce3.5 on UNIX.

Hereafter, the tour uses UNIX syntax for pathnames. If you use WebLogic Commerce Server from a Windows machine, substitute the syntax that Windows requires for pathnames (forward slashes separating pathname elements and percent signs before and after variable names).

 

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Access the Home Page from UNIX

To access the Home page from UNIX, do the following:

1. If WebLogic Commerce Server is not already running, enter the following command from a WebLogic Commerce Server host:
   WL_COMMERCE_HOME/StartCommerce.sh

2. From your workstation, open a Web browser and enter the following URL:
   http://WLCS-host:7501/wlcs

   For example, if the WebLogic Commerce Server host is a workstation named spectacle, enter the following URL in your Web browser:
   http://spectacle:7501/wlcs

   Note: By default, the WebLogic Commerce Server host name is sufficient for the WLCS-host:7501 parameter of the URL. However, if your system administrator changes the config.xml file to require fully qualified domain names, you must supply one. In this case, the URL in step 2 would change to http://WLCS-host.domain-name:7501/wlcs. For example, if the WebLogic Commerce Server host is a workstation named spectacle and the domain name is sprockets.com, enter the following URL in your Web browser:
   http://spectacle.sprockets.com:7501/wlcs

 

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Access the Home Page from Windows

To access the Home page from Windows, do the following:

1. If WebLogic Commerce Server is not already running, on a WebLogic Commerce Server host do one of the following:

   • Click Start --> Programs --> BEA WebLogic E-Business Platform --> BEA WebLogic Commerce Server 3.5 --> Start BEA WebLogic Commerce Server.

   • Click the desktop icon titled Start BEA WebLogic Commerce Server

   • From a command prompt, enter the following command:
     WL_COMMERCE_HOME\StartCommerce.bat

2. From your computer, open a Web browser and enter the following URL:
   http://WLCS-host:7501/wlcs

   For example, if the WebLogic Commerce Server host is a workstation named spectacle, enter the following URL in your Web browser:
   http://spectacle:7501/wlcs

   Note: By default, the WebLogic Commerce Server host name is sufficient for the WLCS-host:7501 parameter of the URL. However, if your system administrator changes the weblogic.properties file to require fully qualified domain names, you must supply one. In this case, the URL in step 2 would change to http://WLCS-host.domain-name:7501/wlcs. For example, if the WebLogic Commerce Server host is a workstation named spectacle and the domain name is sprockets.com, enter the following URL in your Web browser:
   http://spectacle.sprockets.com:7501/wlcs

 

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Overview of the Home Page

When you access http://WLCS-host:7501/wlcs, your browser displays main.jsp, which is the Web site's Home page. Figure 2-1 illustrates the information and navigation options that are available to anonymous users. Registered User Buys a Product, illustrates how main.jsp changes for authenticated users.

Features of main.jsp for Anonymous Users (Part 1 of 2)

Figure 2-1 Home Page for Anonymous Users

 

Notice the following features of main.jsp:

• The file's full pathname is
  WL_COMMERCE_HOME/config/wlcsDomain/applications/wlcsApp/wlcs/commerce/main.jsp

• The top banner, the navigation header, and the footer are defined in separate JSP include files. JSP tags specify that WebLogic Commerce Server includes these files when your browser requests main.jsp.

• In the admin.inc include file that appears at the top of main.jsp:

  • It displays the JSP filename in the upper banner. This display comes from an included file, admin.inc. All templates show the JSP filename in this location.

  • It includes online help, which describes the purpose of the template, navigation options that are available in different user contexts, and notes on customizing the template.

  • Administration links to tools for setting up and maintaining WebLogic Commerce Server and WebLogic Personalization Server features. This tour does not describe the administration tools; to access them, you need the WebLogic Commerce Server administrator username and password. For more information, see "Administration Tasks" in the Guide to Building a Product Catalog, and the Guide to Managing Purchases and Processing Orders, and the Guide to Building Personalized Applications.

  • Template Index. Links to templateindex.html, which briefly describes all JSP templates included in WebLogic Commerce Server.

• The included header.inc files contains an ad placeholder. In the main.jsp file before it is rendered by the browser, a JSP tag is used to reserve a place for the banner ad. For example:

  <td colspan="7" height="75" align="center" valign="middle">
  <ph:placeholder name="<%= banner %>" />
  </td>

  If you are licensed for BEA Campaign Manager for WebLogic, the ad placeholder invites you to take a tour using two sample user accounts. If you are not licensed for Campaign Manager for WebLogic, a default ad is displayed. Information about the campaign features is described in A Sample Campaign.

  Header.inc also includes buttons for navigating to different areas of the site:

  • Search links to search.jsp, which supports searching with Boolean expressions.

  • View Cart links to shoppingcart.jsp, which keeps a list of items purchased during the current session.

  • Log in links to login.jsp, which allows either an existing user to log in, or gives the new user a chance to register with the site.

Technical Note: Importing Tag Libraries and Java Packages

Each JSP template that uses JSP tags begins with a set of lines that import tag libraries. Listing 2-1 shows main.jsp importing Pipeline, Catalog (cat), and User Management (um) tag libraries.

Listing 2-1 Importing Tag Libraries

<%@ taglib uri="pipeline.tld" prefix="pipeline" %>
<%@ taglib uri="cat.tld" prefix="catalog" %>
<%@ taglib uri="um.tld" prefix="um" %>
<%@ taglib uri="pz.tld" prefix="pz" %>
<%@ taglib uri="es.tld" prefix="es" %>
<%@ taglib uri="cm.tld" prefix="cm" %>

For a description of JSP tags and tag libraries that the JSP templates use, refer to the following sections:

• "Webflow and Pipeline JSP Tags" in Webflow and Pipeline Management

• "The Product Catalog JSP Templates" in Guide to Building a Product Catalog

• "JSP Tag Reference" in the Guide to Building Personalized Applications (for the User Management tag library)

Likewise, templates that use Java classes must import Java packages. Listing 2-2 shows main.jsp importing Java packages.

Listing 2-2 Importing Java Packages

<%@ page import="com.beasys.commerce.webflow.*" %>
<%@ page import="com.beasys.commerce.foundation.pipeline.*" %>
<%@ page import="com.beasys.commerce.ebusiness.catalog.*" %>
<%@ page import="com.beasys.commerce.webflow.tags.WebFlowTagConstants" %>
<%@ page import="com.beasys.commerce.axiom.contact.*" %>
<%@ page import="com.beasys.commerce.ebusiness.customer.*" %>
<%@ page import="com.beasys.commerce.content.ContentHelper"%>

More Features of main.jsp for Anonymous Users (Part 2 of 2)

Figure 2-2 Top Level of the Product Catalog

 

main.jsp is also the top level of the product catalog. Notice the following features of the catalog's top level:

• JSP tags create a search mechanism in the left column.

• The information in the Store Catalog section is dynamically generated, based on the information in the product catalog and the user's current location in the catalog hierarchy.

Technical Note: The Product Catalog

WebLogic Commerce Server provides a database schema and set of build scripts for implementing a product catalog. The schema and scripts define commonly used features and attributes found on Web-based catalog sites. For example, the schema specifies metadata that you use to establish a hierarchy of product categories and items. You can use this hierarchy to display product data based on a user's current location in the catalog. Figure 2-2 shows the content that WebLogic Commerce Server generates for the top level of the hierarchy.

Listing 2-3 shows the JSP tags in main.jsp that query the product catalog for categories and display the query results. The listing also shows other HTML elements for formatting and displaying content. (If you are not familiar with JSP syntax, look only at the comment tags, which are surrounded by <%-- and --%>.)

Listing 2-3 JSP Tags that Query the Product Catalog

<%-- Get the top category from the PipelineSession. --%>
    <pipeline:getPipelineProperty propertyName="<%= PipelineSessionConstants.CATALOG_CATEGORY %>"
returnName="topCategory"
returnType="com.beasys.commerce.ebusiness.catalog.Category"
attributeScope="<%= PipelineConstants.REQUEST_SCOPE %>"/>

<%-- Get the subcategories of the top category from the PipelineSession. --%>
     <pipeline:getPipelineProperty propertyName="<%= PipelineSessionConstants.CATALOG_CATEGORIES %>"
returnName="subcategories"
returnType="com.beasys.commerce.ebusiness.catalog.ViewIterator"
attributeScope="<%= PipelineConstants.REQUEST_SCOPE %>"/>

<%-- Iterate through all the subcategories, one category at a time, and list the name of each category --%>
<p class="head1">Store Catalog</p>
<ul type="square">

<%-- Declare a String containing common browse parameters --%>
<%! static final String commonParameters = "&" +
HttpRequestConstants.CATALOG_SOURCE_KEY + "=" + PipelineSessionConstants.CATALOG_CATEGORIES + "&" +
HttpRequestConstants.CATALOG_DESTINATION_KEY + "=wlcs_siblings&"; %>

<catalog:iterateViewIterator iterator="<%= subcategories %>" id="currentCategory" returnType="com.beasys.commerce.ebusiness.catalog.Category">

<% String browseParameters = commonParameters + HttpRequestConstants.CATALOG_CATEGORY_ID + "=" + java.net.URLEncoder.encode(currentCategory.getKey().getIdentifier()); %>

<li>
<a href="<%= WebflowJSPHelper.createWebflowURL(pageContext, "main.jsp", "link(browse)", browseParameters, true) %>">
<b><catalog:getProperty object="<%= currentCategory %>" propertyName="Name"/></b>
</a>
<br>
</catalog:iterateViewIterator>
</ul>

WebLogic Commerce Server also includes a utility for importing data from an existing product catalog database, or you can use other utilities to import data. If you already use a catalog system that you prefer to the WebLogic Commerce Server database, you can modify the JSP templates to use your existing catalog system. (However, this low-level modification requires Java programming skills.) For more information about using existing data with WebLogic Commerce Server, see "Using the Product Catalog Database Loader" in the Guide to Building a Product Catalog.

To continue the tour...

Leave main.jsp open in your browser and go to New User Buys a Product. This section shows the JSP templates that new users are likely to encounter.

Other sections of the tour, Registered User Buys a Product, and Registered User Adds a Credit Card, show additional scenarios for using the WebLogic Commerce Server JSP templates.