19 Integrating the RSS Service

This chapter describes how to integrate the RSS service into a custom WebCenter application. This service enables your users to add and view RSS 2.0 formatted feeds within your application.

This chapter includes the following sections:

• Section 19.1, "Introduction to the RSS Service"

• Section 19.2, "Basic Configuration for the RSS Service"

19.1 Introduction to the RSS Service

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) provides a means of accessing the content of many different web sites from a single location—a news reader. The Oracle WebCenter RSS Viewer task flow is available for displaying feeds from external sources. For accessing secure application content, the RSS Viewer provides integration with external applications to provide credential mapping services to authenticate with the remote feed. For more information about using external applications, see Section 24.2, "Working with External Applications."

Oracle WebCenter Framework includes the RSS Service, which enables you to add the RSS Viewer task flow to a custom WebCenter application so that you can display content from an RSS (or an external RSS) feed. At design time, you specify a URL for an RSS feed, which your end users can then view at runtime. After deployment, any user who has permissions to modify the page can change the URL of the RSS feed. See Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter for more information about the service at runtime. Figure 19-1 shows a sample RSS feed at runtime.

Figure 19-1 RSS Feed at Runtime

Description of "Figure 19-1 RSS Feed at Runtime"

Note: You can see the RSS Viewer service in action in the sample application, as described in Chapter 2, "Introduction to the WebCenter Sample Application."

19.2 Basic Configuration for the RSS Service

This section describes how to add the RSS Viewer task flow to your custom WebCenter application. You do not need to set up a connection to use this service. However, you can set up a proxy for this service, if necessary.

19.2.1 Setting up a Proxy Server for the RSS Service

The RSS Viewer service does not require any connections. You can simply point to the URL of the RSS feed. However, if you want to point to an RSS feed that is external to your intranet and application, you may need to set up a proxy server for your application.

To set up a proxy server for the RSS service:

1. In Oracle JDeveloper, while your application is open and selected in the Application Navigator, choose the Tools menu option, then select Preferences.

2. In the Preferences dialog, scroll down the list on the left side and select Web Browser and Proxy.

3. In the right pane, under Web Browser and Proxy, select Use HTTP Proxy Server and enter the host name and port number for your proxy server, and note any exceptions (Figure 19-2).

   Figure 19-2 Setting a Proxy Server

   
   Description of "Figure 19-2 Setting a Proxy Server"
   
   

19.2.2 Adding the RSS Service at Design Time

You can add the RSS Viewer task flow to your custom WebCenter application at design time to enable your users to view an RSS feed at runtime. This section describes the task flow and how to add it to your application. You will also learn how to set up an external application for RSS feeds that require authentication.

19.2.2.1 RSS Service Task Flow

The RSS service has a single task flow called RSS Viewer, which you can add to your application to enable your users to access an RSS feed. You can add multiple instances of the task flow to your application and use the Edit Task Flow Binding dialog to point to multiple RSS feed locations.

19.2.2.2 How to Add the RSS Service to Your Application

To add the RSS Viewer task flow to your application:

1. Follow the steps in Section 11.1.1, "How to Prepare Your Application to Consume Services" to implement security, if necessary, and create a customizable page in your application.

2. Open the customizable page.

3. If the RSS feed you want to use requires authentication, create an external application. If it does not require authentication, proceed to Step 4.

   
   

   Note: For more information about external applications, refer to Section 24.2, "Working with External Applications."

   
   

4. In the Resource Palette, open the WebCenter Services Catalog, then expand the Task Flows folder.

5. Click RSS Viewer and drag it to your page after the <af:form> tag, and choose Region. The Edit Task Flow Binding dialog displays.

6. In the Edit Task Flow Binding dialog, you can set the location of the RSS feed and enter the name (the application name, not the application display name) of the external application that the custom WebCenter application can use to authenticate RSS feed.

   Figure 19-3 Example of the Edit Task Flow Binding Dialog for the RSS Viewer Service

   
   Description of "Figure 19-3 Example of the Edit Task Flow Binding Dialog for the RSS Viewer Service"
   
   

   Table 19-1 describes the possible values for the RSS Viewer task flow binding parameters.

   Table 19-1 RSS Viewer Task Flow Binding Parameters

   Parameter	Value
   rssFeedLocation	Enter the location of the RSS feed. For example, to use the Oracle Press Releases RSS feed, enter: ${'http://www.oracle.com/rss/rss_ocom_pr.xml'}
   extAppId	Enter the name of the external application you wish to use to authenticate the custom WebCenter application with the RSS feed. If the RSS feed does not require authentication, you do not need to set up and identify an external application for this service.

   
   

7. Click OK and save your page. The binding displays on your page.

   If you look at the Source tab of your page, you can see the RSS Viewer task flow in the page source (Figure 19-4).

   Figure 19-4 RSS Viewer Task Flow in the Page Source

   
   Description of "Figure 19-4 RSS Viewer Task Flow in the Page Source"
   
   

19.2.3 Setting Security for the RSS Viewer Service

To use the RSS service with a public RSS feed, you do not need to set security. To use the RSS service with an RSS feed that requires authentication, you can set up an external application for your custom WebCenter application that sets up either user credentials or public credentials for accessing the RSS feed.

Note: For secure application content, your news reader must support BASIC authentication.

For more information on using external applications, refer to Section 24.2, "Working with External Applications."

Only authenticated users can view secure RSS feeds. If a user is not authenticated and the RSS feed is secured, the user will not see any content in the RSS Viewer unless the external application specifies PUBLIC credentials.

Note: When you add the RSS Viewer task flow to your application, the View grant is automatically added to the authenticated-role.