Getting Started with Integrating WebCenter Content into Your Environment

24.1 About Integration Methods

Several methods are available for integrating Oracle WebCenter Content with enterprise applications, such as application servers, catalog solutions, personalization applications, enterprise portals, and client-side software. In general, these integration methods serve to translate or pass methods and associated parameters with the goal of executing Oracle WebCenter Content Server services.

A Content Server service is a window for accessing the content and content management functions within Oracle WebCenter Content. For example, one simple integration option is to reference content that is managed within WebCenter Content by a persistent URL. Some other integration options enable you to use the Java API, the Microsoft Component Object Model (COM) interface, or the ActiveX control.

The focus of this chapter is to present the available integration options, suggest an approach, (like IdcCommand X, or persistent URL, or SOAP), and provide information about where to get the detailed documentation on that approach. Specifically, this chapter provides basic conceptual information about the integration of Oracle WebCenter Content within network system environments using various protocols, interfaces, and mapping services.

For information about using the IdcCommand utility to access Content Server services from other applications, see Using the IdcCommand Utility to Access Content Server.

For information about the COM interface, see Using the COM API for Integration.

For information about Remote Intradoc Client (RIDC) integration, see Using RIDC to Access Content Server.

24.2 Overview of Web Services

Web services reside as a layer on top of existing software systems, such as application servers, .NET servers, and Content Server. Adapted to the Internet as the model for communication, web services rely on the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) as the default network protocol. You can use web services as a bridge between dissimilar operating systems or programming languages to build applications with a combination of components.

WebCenter Content supports two ways of using web services to build applications that are integrated with Content Server:

WebCenter Content web services together with Oracle WebLogic Server web services, with security configuration and Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) support (introduced in WebCenter Content 11g)

Content Server provides some web services built into the core product. Oracle WebLogic Server provides SOAP capabilities, and Content Server supports several SOAP requests through Oracle WebLogic Server. For more information, see Configuring WebCenter Content Web Services for Integration .
Web Services Definition Language (WSDL) and SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) files, with or without the WSDL generator component of Content Server (introduced in Oracle Universal Content Management 10g)

The WSDL Generator component, WsdlGenerator, provides integration technologies for accessing the functionality of Content Server. This Content Server system component is installed and enabled by default. The WSDL Generator can create WSDLs for the services of Content Server, or the service calls can be written in SOAP. For more information, see Configuring Web Services with WSDL_ SOAP_ and the WSDL Generator.

With either way of using web services, you can use Oracle Web Services Manager (Oracle WSM) for security. For more information about Oracle WSM, see Configuring WebCenter Content Web Services for Integration , and the Administering Web Services.

24.3 Folders, Contribution Folders, and WebDAV Integration

Oracle WebCenter Content Server includes components that provide a hierarchical folder interface, similar to a conventional file system, for organizing and managing some or all of the content in the repository.

Folders: This component (FrameworkFolders component) provides a hierarchical folder interface within the browser, similar to a conventional file system, for organizing, locating, and managing repository content and content item metadata. The Folders functionality is installed but disabled by default. Folders is a scalable, enterprise solution and is intended to replace the earlier Contribution Folder interface.
Contribution Folders: Contribution Folders is an optional feature. The component is installed but disabled by default. The newer, Folders component is meant to be a replacement for Contribution Folders.

Note:

Running both Folders and Contribution Folders is not a supported configuration. Content in Contribution Folders should be migrated to the Folders interface. For more information about migrating Contribution Folder content, see Archiving Contribution Folders in Oracle Fusion Middleware Administering Oracle WebCenter Content.

In later releases of Oracle WebCenter Content 11g Release 1 (11.1.1) Contribution Folders has been replaced by Folders, which is supported by the FrameworkFolders component.
WebDAV (Web-Based Distributed Authoring and Versioning): Both folder components work with the built-in WebDAV functionality in Content Server that enables users to remotely manage and author content using clients that support the WebDAV protocol. The WebDAV interface provides a subset of the options available through the browser interface. In general, you can create, delete, move, and copy both folders and content items, and you can modify and check in content items. To check out content items through the WebDAV interface, you must use a WebDAV client that can open the file. To perform other management tasks, such as specifying or propagating metadata values, you must use the standard browser interface.

For information about configuring Folders or Contribution Folders, see Configuring the Folders Interface in Oracle Fusion Middleware Installing and Configuring Oracle WebCenter Content, 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.9).

For information about using Folders or Contribution Folders with WebDAV, see Working with Content Folders in Oracle Fusion Middleware Using Oracle WebCenter Content.

For information about managing Folders, Contribution Folders, and WebDAV, see Organizing Content in Oracle Fusion Middleware Managing Oracle WebCenter Content.

Oracle WebCenter Content provides services for customizing Folders and Contribution Folders. For more information, see Folders Services or Contribution Folders Services in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Services Reference for Oracle WebCenter Content.

24.3.1 Virtual Folders

The Contribution Folders component sets up an interface to Content Server in the form of virtual folders (also called hierarchical folders). Virtual folders enable you to create a multilevel folder structure.

Virtual folders provide two main benefits:

Users can find content by drilling down through a familiar folder-type interface.
Users can apply default metadata to content items by checking them in through a particular folder.

The following structure is used for the Contribution Folders component:

Each Content Server instance has a common set of virtual folders. Any change to the folders is applied systemwide.
There is one default system-level folder, called Contribution Folders. If you are using a custom folders interface, folders for these products may also appear at the system level of the Folders hierarchy.

This also applies if you are using the Collaboration Server.
The system administrator can change the name of a system-level folder, but cannot delete it or add a custom system-level folder except through changes to the database. (Deleting a system-level folder disables it, but does not remove it from the system.)
Each folder in the hierarchy contains content items that have the same numeric Folder value, which is assigned automatically upon creation of the folder. Changing the value of the Folder field for a content item places it in a different folder.
The number of folders and number of files in each folder can be limited by the system administrator so that virtual folder functions do not affect system performance.

For detailed information about configuring Content Server for WebDAV integration, see Managing WebDAV inOracle Fusion Middleware Managing Oracle WebCenter Content.

24.3.2 WebDAV Integration

WebDAV provides a way to remotely author and manage your content using clients that support the WebDAV protocol. For example, you can use Microsoft Windows Explorer to check in, check out, and modify content in the repository rather than using a web browser interface.

WebDAV is an extension to the HTTP/1.1 protocol that allows clients to perform remote web content authoring operations. The WebDAV protocol is specified by RFC 2518.0.

For more information, see the WebDAV Resources website at

http://www.webdav.org

WebDAV provides support for the following authoring and versioning functions:

Version management
Locking for overwrite protection
Web page properties
Collections of web resources
Name space management (copy or move pages on a web server)
Access control

When WebDAV is used with a content management system such as Content Server, the WebDAV client serves as an alternate user interface to the native files in the content repository. The same versioning and security controls apply, whether an author uses the Content Server web browser interface or a WebDAV client.

In Content Server, the WebDAV interface is based on the hierarchical Folders interface. For more information, see Virtual Folders.

24.3.2.1 WebDAV Clients

A WebDAV client is an application that can send requests and receive responses using a WebDAV protocol (for example, Microsoft Windows Explorer, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint). Check the current WebDAV client documentation for supported versions. The WebCenter Content WebDAV Client is a different product that enhances the WebDAV interface to Content Server.

You can use WebDAV virtual folders in Windows Explorer to manage files that were created in a non-WebDAV client, but you cannot use the native application to check content in to and out of the Content Server repository.

The Desktop software package also includes a WebDAV Client component and a Check Out and Open component.

24.3.2.2 WebDAV Servers

A WebDAV server is a server that can receive requests and send responses using WebDAV protocol and can provide authoring and versioning capabilities. Because WebDAV requests are sent over HTTP protocol, a WebDAV server typically is built as an add-on component to a standard web server. In Content Server, the WebDAV server is used only as an interpreter between clients and Content Server.

24.3.2.3 WebDAV Architecture

WebDAV is implemented in Content Server by the WebDAV component. The architecture of a WebDAV request follows these steps:

The WebDAV client makes a request to Content Server.
The message is processed by the web server (through a DLL in IIS).
On Content Server, the WebDAV component performs these functions:
- Recognizes the client request as WebDAV.
- Maps the client request to the appropriate WebDAV service call on Content Server.
- Converts the client request from a WebDAV request to the appropriate Content Server request.
- Connects to the core Content Server and executes the Content Server request.
The WebDAV component converts the Content Server response into a WebDAV response and returns it to the WebDAV client.