About Using This Book

This topic includes information about how to use this book. It includes the following information:

"Important Terms and Concepts"
"How This Book Indicates Computer Code and Variables"
"How This Book Describes Objects"
"About the Siebel Innovation Pack"
"Support for Customizing Siebel Open UI"
"Getting Help from Oracle"

Important Terms and Concepts

This book uses the following terms and concepts that you must understand before you customize Siebel Open UI:

A user is a person who uses the client of a Siebel business application to access Siebel CRM data.
The user interface is the interface that the user uses in the client to access data that Siebel Open UI displays.
The client is the client of a Siebel business application. Siebel Call Center is an example of a Siebel business application. Siebel Open UI renders the user interface in this client.
The server is the Siebel Server, unless noted otherwise.
An administrator is anyone who uses an administrative screen in the client to configure Siebel CRM. The Administration - Server Configuration screen is an example of an administrative screen.
Predefined Siebel Open UI is the ready-to-use version of Siebel Open UI that Oracle provides to you before you make any customization to Siebel Open UI.
A Siebel CRM object is an object that resides in the Siebel Repository File. For example, a screen, view, applet, business component, menu, or control is each an example of a Siebel object. The Contact List Applet is an example of a Siebel CRM applet. A Siebel CRM applet is not equivalent to a Java applet. For more information, see Configuring Siebel Business Applications.
A predefined object is an object that comes already defined with Siebel CRM and is ready to use with no modification. The objects that Siebel Tools displays in the Object List Editor immediately after you install Siebel Tools, and the objects that the SRF (Siebel Repository File) contains before you make any customization, are predefined objects.
A custom object is a predefined object that you modified or a new object that you create.
The term focus indicates the currently active object in the client. To indicate the object that is in focus, Siebel CRM typically sets the border of this object to a solid blue line.
To derive a value is to use one or more properties as input when calculating this value. For example, Siebel Open UI can derive the value of a physical renderer property from one or more other properties. For more information, see "Deriving Presentation Models, Physical Renderers and Plug-in Wrappers".
The term class describes a JavaScript class. It does not describe the Siebel class object type, unless noted otherwise, or unless described in the context of the Siebel Object Hierarchy. For more information about the Siebel class object type, see Siebel Object Types Reference.
The term reference describes a relationship that exists between two objects, where one object gets information from another object or sends information to this object. For example, in the Siebel Object Hierarchy, the Opportunity List Applet references the Opportunity business component to get opportunity records from this business component, and the Opportunity business component references the S_OPTY table to get opportunity records from this table.
The term instance describes the current, run-time state of an object. For example, a business component instance is a run-time occurrence of a business component. It includes all the run-time data that the business component currently contains, such as the values for all fields and properties of this business component. For example, an instance of the Contact business component includes the current, run-time value of the City field that resides in this business component, such as San Francisco. You can configure Siebel Open UI to get a business component instance, and then modify this data or call the methods that this business component references.

For more information about these terms and other background information, see the following items:

A complete list of terms that this book uses, see Glossary.
Using the Siebel Open UI client, see Siebel Fundamentals for Open UI.
Enabling the Siebel Server to run Siebel Open UI, see the Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using.
Using Siebel Tools, see Using Siebel Tools.

How This Book Indicates Computer Code and Variables

Computer font indicates a value that you enter or text that Siebel CRM displays. For example:

This is computer font

Italic text indicates a variable value. For example, the n and the method_name in the following syntax description are variables:

Named Method n: method_name

The following is an example of this code:

Named Method 2: WriteRecord

How This Book Indicates Code That You Can Use as a Variable and Literal

You can write some code as a literal or a variable. For example, the Home method sets a record in the current set of records as the active row. It uses the following syntax:

busComp.Home();

where:

busComp identifies the business component that contains the record that Home sets.

You can use busComp as a literal or a variable. If you declare busComp as a variable in some other section of code, and if it contains a value of Account when you use the Home method, then Home sets a record in the Account business component as the active record. You can also use the following code, which also sets a record in the Account business component as the active record:

Account.Home();

Case Sensitivity in Code Examples

The code examples in this book use standard JavaScript and HTML format for uppercase and lowercase characters. It is recommended that you use the following case sensitivity rules that this book uses:

All code that occurs outside of a set of double quotation marks (" ") is case sensitive. The only exception to this rule occurs with path and file names.
All code that occurs inside a set of angle brackets (<>) is case sensitive. The only exception to this rule is any code that you enclose with a set of double quotation marks that you nest inside a set of angle brackets.

The following example is valid:

function RecycleBinPModel(){
  SiebelAppFacade.RecycleBinPModel.superclass.constructor.apply(this, arguments);
}

The following example is not valid. Bold font indicates the code that is not valid:

function Recyclebinpmodel(){
  SiebelAppFacade.RecycleBinPModel.superclass.constructor.apply(this, arguments);
}

How This Book Describes Objects

For brevity, this book describes how an object, such as a user property, does something. For example, this book might state the following:

"The Copy Contact user property copies contacts."

In strict technical terms, the Copy Contact user property only includes information that some other Siebel CRM object uses to copy contacts.

For brevity, to describe how Siebel CRM uses the value that a property contains, in some instances this book describes only the property name. For example, assume Siebel CRM displays the value that the Display Name property contains. This property is a property of a tree node object. This book only states the following:

"Siebel CRM displays the Display Name property of the tree node."

In reality, Siebel CRM displays the value that the Display Name property contains.

About Objects and Metadata

A Siebel object definition defines the metadata that Siebel Open UI uses to run a Siebel application. The Account List Applet that Siebel Tools displays in the Object List Editor is an example of an object definition. It includes metadata that Siebel Open UI uses to render the Account List Applet, such as the height and width of all controls that the applet contains, and all the text labels that it must display on these controls. The Siebel Repository is a set of database tables that stores these object definitions. Examples of types of objects include applets, views, business components, and tables. You use Siebel Tools to create or modify an object definition.

The object manager hosts a Siebel application, providing the central processing for HTTP transactions, database data, and metadata, which is data that the object definitions contain. It is different from Siebel CRM data, which is data that is specific to your business, such as account names and account addresses.

For more information, Configuring Siebel Business Applications.

How This Book Describes Relationships Between Objects

An object definition includes properties and a property includes a value. For example, the Business Object property of the Account Address view contains a value of Account. To describe this relationship, this book might state the following:

The Account Address view references the Account business object.

Sometimes the relationship between objects occurs through more than one object. For brevity, this book does not always describe the entire extent of relationships that exists between objects through the entire Siebel Object Hierarchy. For example, because the Account business object references the Account business component, and the Account Address view references the Account business object, this book might state the following:

The Account Address view references the Account business component.

About the Siebel Innovation Pack

Oracle provides the functionality that this guide describes as part of Siebel Innovation Pack. To use this functionality, you must install the innovation pack and do the postinstallation configuration tasks. For more information about the functionality that Siebel Innovation Pack includes, see the applicable Siebel Maintenance Release Guide on My Oracle Support.

Depending on the software configuration that you purchase, your Siebel business application might not include all the features that this book describes.

Support for Customizing Siebel Open UI

Siebel CRM supports the following customizations in Siebel Open UI. You must carefully consider the implications of doing this customization and development:

Siebel Open UI allows you to use predefined or existing Siebel repository information in your deployment without customization. Siebel Open UI uses this repository information to render the user interface. This rendering does require user acceptance testing.
You can use Siebel Tools to customize Siebel Open UI so that it works in your business environment and meets user requirements. You configure the same Siebel Repository File and the same Siebel Web templates.
You can use your Web development skills and the Siebel Open UI JavaScript API to customize Siebel Open UI. For details about this API, see Appendix A, "Application Programming Interface." Oracle continues to support browser scripting in previous releases, but strongly recommends that you convert any browser script that your deployment currently uses so that it uses the Siebel Open UI JavaScript API.
You can combine Siebel Tools development with development of the Siebel Open UI JavaScript API simultaneously, as needed.
Siebel CRM supports including Siebel Open UI or individual Siebel Open UI objects in a third-party user interface. Views and applets are examples of Siebel Open UI objects.
Siebel CRM supports integrating external content in the Siebel Open UI client.
You can modify the cascading style sheets that come predefined with Siebel Open UI to rebrand your deployment and customize the user experience.
Siebel Open UI supports usage of Siebel SmartScript to specify workflow. For more information, see Siebel SmartScript Administration Guide.
You can use HTML, CSS, or JavaScript to add features. For example, you can do the following:
- Build user interfaces on any technology that can integrate with the Siebel Open UI JavaScript API.
- Use your preferred, open-source JavaScript library, such as jQuery, from the open-source development community, or you can use the environment that Siebel Open UI provides.
- Use a plug-in, proprietary development environment, or a native development environment. You can use these environments to create a custom rendering architecture that integrates with the Siebel Open UI JavaScript API.
- Use intraworkspace communication and DOM access and manipulation through JavaScript programming.
- Do a pilot user acceptance test of your Siebel Open UI deployment that uses your current Siebel Server implementation.
- Preserve your existing configurations and customizations.

Support That Siebel Open UI Provides

It is strongly recommended that you carefully consider the support policies that this topic describes before you customize Siebel Open UI. For more information about the support that Oracle provides, see Scope of Service for Siebel Configuration and Scripting - Siebel Open UI (Article ID 1513378.1) on My Oracle Support.

Support for the Siebel Open UI JavaScript API

Oracle only supports usage and features of the Siebel Open UI JavaScript API as described in Oracle's published documentation. This policy makes sure that your deployment properly uses this API and helps to make sure your deployment works successfully. You are fully responsible for support of any custom code that you write that uses this API. For product issues that are related to this API, Oracle might request a minimal test case that exercises your API modifications.

Oracle supports your usage of an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) of your choice that you use to write native JavaScript code that you then deploy to work with the Siebel Open UI JavaScript API. Oracle does not support the features of or the quality of any third-party IDE.

Oracle supports your usage of the Siebel Open UI JavaScript API with a rendering environment and system integration that you choose. Oracle has implemented Siebel Open UI in HTML. You can use this implementation as a template for your deployment on other technologies. This template approach allows you to expedite development. However, Oracle can in no way support these customizations because this work is outside the scope of Oracle's support for customizations. It is recommended that you work with Oracle's Application Expert Services on any implementation issues you encounter that are related to the Siebel Open UI JavaScript API. For more information, see "Getting Help from Oracle".

If your current deployment includes an integration that resides on the desktop, and if this integration does not easily support migration to JavaScript integration, then it is recommended that you move this integration to the Siebel Server, or use a web service on the desktop that can integrate to this server.

Support for Code Suggestions, Examples, and Templates

Oracle provides code examples only to help you understand how to use the Siebel Open UI JavaScript API with Siebel Open UI. Oracle does not support your usage of these code examples. It only supports usage of this API as described in Appendix A, "Application Programming Interface."

Getting Help from Oracle

The predefined application that Oracle provides includes integration interfaces that allow you to modify or to create a new user interface. You can use these integration interfaces to create your own presentation model or physical renderer, at your discretion. It is your responsibility to create and maintain any customizations that you make. For more information, see "About the Presentation Model" and "About the Physical Renderer".

To get help from Oracle with configuring Siebel Open UI, you can create a service request (SR) on My Oracle Support. Alternatively, you can phone Global Customer Support directly to create a service request or to get a status update on your current SR. Support phone numbers are listed on My Oracle Support. You can also contact your Oracle sales representative for Oracle Advanced Customer Services to request assistance from Oracle's Application Expert Services.