A common complaint about enterprise software is the complexity of the installation and configuration process. CIM is designed to cut down this complexity. A series of text-based wizards guide the user through configuration procedures, providing these benefits:
The user knows that steps were performed in the correct order.
Steps are automated and intelligent defaults provided where possible, avoiding opportunities for input errors.
All necessary steps are complete.
The result is a working, basic installation that can be used as a starting point for further work. Note that CIM is not intended to handle the entire configuration process, since much of the work of setting up an Oracle ATG Web Commerce installation is handled through the administrative user interfaces and through custom components.
CIM scripts are written in XML and use a library of templates, tasks, and validators, making them easy to create and extend. This chapter introduces CIM script components and describes how to run the demonstration script so you can see CIM in action.
This chapter contains the following sections:
