Preface


This manual is intended for application developers who will be programming server-side or client-side code, or both. It provides conceptual sections that will prove useful to anyone working with iPlanet Application Server. It contains an overview of useful iPlanet Application Server concepts, application design principles, and detailed information about developing iPlanet Application Server applications in C++.

This preface describes the iAS documentation set and illustrates what you can expect to find in this Programmer's Guide.

This preface contains the following sections:

• Using the Documentation

• About This Guide

• What You Should Already Know

• How This Guide Is Organized

• Naming Conventions

• Documentation Conventions

• Related Information

Using the Documentation

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The following table lists the tasks and concepts that are described in the iPlanet Application Server (iAS) and iPlanet Application Builder (iAB) printed manuals and online read-me file. If you are trying to accomplish a specific task or learn more about a specific concept, refer to the appropriate manual.

Note that the printed manuals are also available as online files in PDF and HTML format. See the page installdir/ias/docs/index.htm, where installdir is the directory in which you installed iAS.

For information about	See the following	Shipped with
Late-breaking information about the software and the documentation	readme.htm	iAS 6.0 Developer Edition (Solaris), iAS 6.0, iAB 6.0
Installing iPlanet Application Server and its various components (Web Connector plug-in, iPlanet Application Server Administrator), and configuring the sample applications	Installation Guide	iAS 6.0 Developer Edition (Solaris), iAS 6.0
Installing iPlanet Application Builder	install.htm	iAB 6.0
Basic features of NAS, such as its software components, general capabilities, and system architecture	Overview	iAS 6.0 Developer Edition (Solaris), iAS 6.0, iAB 6.0
Deploying iPlanet Application Server at your site, by performing the following tasks: Planning your iPlanet Application Server environment Integrating the product within your existing enterprise and network topology Developing server capacity and performance goals Running stress tests to measure server performance Fine-tuning the server to improve performance	Administration and Deployment Guide	iAS 6.0
Administering one or more application servers using the iPlanet Application Server Administrator tool to perform the following tasks: Deploying applications with the Deployment Manager tool Monitoring and logging server activity Setting up users and groups Administering database connectivity Administering transactions Load balancing servers Managing distributed data synchronization	Administation and Deployment Guide	iAS 6.0
Migrating your applications to the new iPlanet Application Server 6.0 programming model from version 2.1, including a sample migration of an Online Bank application provided with iPlanet Application Server	Migration Guide	iAS 6.0 Developer Edition (Solaris), iAS 6.0, iAB 6.0
Creating iAS 6.0 applications within an integrated development environment by performing the following tasks: Creating and managing projects Using wizards Creating data-access logic Creating presentation logic and layout Creating business logic Compiling, testing, and debugging applications Deploying and downloading applications Working with source control Using third-party tools	User's Guide	iAB 6.0
Creating iAS 6.0 applications that follow the new open Java standards model (Servlets, EJBs, JSPs, and JDBC), by performing the following tasks: Creating the presentation and execution layers of an application Placing discrete pieces of business logic and entities into Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) components Using JDBC to communicate with databases Using iterative testing, debugging, and application fine-tuning procedures to generate applications that execute correctly and quickly	Programmer's Guide (Java)	iAS 6.0 Developer Edition (Solaris), iAB 6.0
Using the public classes and interfaces, and their methods in the iPlanet Application Server class library to write Java applications	Server Foundation Class Reference (Java)	iAS 6.0 Developer Edition (Solaris), iAB 6.0
Using the public classes and interfaces, and their methods in the iPlanet Application Server class library to write C++ applications	Server Foundation Class Reference (C++)	Order separately

About This Guide

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This guide describes how to create applications intended to run on iPlanet Application Server.

This guide is intended for information technology developers in the corporate enterprise who want to extend client-server applications to a broader audience through the World Wide Web. In addition to describing programming concepts and tasks, this guide offers sample code, implementation tips, and reference material that includes a glossary.

What You Should Already Know

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This guide assumes you are familiar with the following topics:

• the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) specification

• the Internet and World Wide Web

• Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

• C++ programming

• C++ APIs as defined in specifications for Enterprise JavaBeans, JavaServer Pages, and JDBC

• structured database query languages such as SQL

• relational database concepts

• software development processes, including debugging and source code control

How This Guide Is Organized

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This guide is organized into twelve chapters and an appendix.

• Chapter 1, "Introduction to Applications"

• Chapter 2, "Designing Applications"

• Chapter 3, "Application Development Techniques"

• Chapter 4, "Writing Server-Side Appication Code"

• Chapter 5, "Working with Databases"

• Chapter 6, "Querying a Database"

• Chapter 7, "Working with Templates"

• Chapter 8, "Managing Session and State Information"

• Chapter 9, "Writing Secure Applications"

• Chapter 10, "Integrating Applications with Email"

• Chapter 11, "Running and Debugging Applications"

• Chapter 12, "Sample Code Walkthrough"

• Chapter 13, "Writing Secure Applications"

• Appendix A, "Implementation Tips"

Finally, a Glossary and Index are provided.

Naming Conventions

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Item	Convention
Class name	"GX" prefix, followed by mixed case with initial uppercase. For example, GXTemplateMapBasic class.
Interface name	"IGX" prefix, followed by mixed case with initial uppercase. For example, IGXPreparedQuery.
Method name	Mixed case with initial uppercase. For example, GetLogin( ).
Parameters	Mixed case with initial lowercase. For example, myQuery.
Variables	Mixed case with initial lowercase. For example, myVar.

Documentation Conventions

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File and directory paths are given in Windows format (with backslashes separating directory names). For Unix versions, the directory paths are the same, except that slashes are used instead of backslashes to separate directories.

This guide uses URLs of the form:

http://server.domain/path/file.html

In these URLs, server is the name of server on which you run your application; domain is your Internet domain name; path is the directory structure on the server; and file is an individual filename. Italic items in URLs are placeholders.

This guide uses the following font conventions:

• The monospace font is used for sample code and code listings, API and language elements (such as function names and class names), file names, pathnames, directory names, and HTML tags.

• Italic type is used for book titles, emphasis, variables and placeholders, and words used in the literal sense.

Related Information

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Specifications related to the iAS programming model are provided in the directory installdir/ias/docs/, where installdir refers to the directory in which you installed iAS. You can find a directory of all iAS-related documentation at installdir/ias/docs/index.htm.