Portlets function similarly to providers, however they are based on the API defined by the JSR-168 portlet specification.
The Sun Java System Portal Server includes the following sample portlets:
Notepad Portlet
JSPPortlet
Bookmark Portlet
Weather Portlet
Use the Portal Server management console of command-line utilities to deploy these portlets at the Enterprise Sample organization level.
The advantages to using portlets are as follows:
Portability. A portlet implemented using only the standard Portlet API and other standard J2EE interfaces, is portable to any JSR168 portlet specification-compliant portlet container.
Access to developers. As support for the portlet API grows with multiple vendor implementations, more developers are becoming familiar with the API.
Developer tools. Wider support may be available for developer tools to create portlets.
Web application integration. The portlet API is based on the Servlet API, making it is easier to integrate portlets with servlets and other standard web application components.
For more information on the portlets, see Sun Java System Portal Server 7 Developer’s Guide.