WebFOCUS and Developer Studio Overview and Architecture

In this section:

Developer Studio is used to develop and manage WebFOCUS applications, as well as to administer Managed Reporting environments. It is normally assumed, but not required, that WebFOCUS is installed, or will be installed, somewhere in your enterprise. In addition, Developer Studio architecture and functionality are based on the architecture of WebFOCUS.


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Developer Studio Components

There are two pieces involved when developing or administering with Developer Studio.


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WebFOCUS Environments and Components

In a WebFOCUS environment, WebFOCUS connects a web server or application server to your data. End users then access WebFOCUS applications through a web browser. Your enterprise may have multiple WebFOCUS environments each containing the following components:

WebFOCUS employs a distributed architecture. This means that the WebFOCUS Client and its WebFOCUS Reporting Servers can either be on the same machine and operating system or distributed across multiple machines running different operating systems. You can easily connect an Apache web server running on UNIX to Microsoft SQL Server data on Windows and DB2 data on z/OS.

For more information on WebFOCUS components and configuration options, refer to the installation and configuration documentation for your platform.

Note: To ensure proper communication, WebFOCUS components should be the same release number as each other and Developer Studio.


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WebFOCUS Processing

The following steps accompany the figure below and describe how WebFOCUS or Developer Studio processes requests:

  1. A user requests a report and passes parameters by calling the WebFOCUS servlet through links and forms on a webpage or through Developer Studio.
  2. The request and parameters come to the WebFOCUS Client through the web and/or application servers, and the WebFOCUS Client processes the parameters to create a request for the WebFOCUS Reporting Server.
  3. The WebFOCUS Reporting Server receives the request, processes it, and accesses any needed data.
  4. Data is retrieved from data sources to process the request.
  5. The WebFOCUS Reporting Server processes the user request using the retrieved data.
  6. The response is returned to the WebFOCUS Client.
  7. The response is returned to the user.


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Developer Studio Processing

Developer Studio processes requests the same way that WebFOCUS does. Developer Studio makes calls to a web or application server that is configured to accept a WebFOCUS servlet request. The servlet then connects to the WebFOCUS Reporting Server to process the report request.

The web or application server can be located on the same machine as Developer Studio or located elsewhere in your enterprise.

You can also use a combination of local and remote processing.


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Developer Studio Development Options

Developer Studio provides flexibility in how you develop and maintain your WebFOCUS applications and reports. There are several ways to develop with Developer Studio.

For more information about Developer Studio configurations and development environments, see the Developer Studio Application Development Getting Started manual.


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Developer Studio Networked Installation

Normally, Developer Studio is installed on the desktop of each developer. However, a networked Developer Studio installation option is available as well.

In a networked configuration, Developer Studio is installed on a single shared machine, rather than each desktop. Developers then launch Developer Studio on their desktops by executing files that have been installed on the shared machine. This simplifies administration, installation, and upgrading and it allows all developers to use a common preconfigured environment.

A network installation of Developer Studio includes only the GUI tools to develop, organize, maintain, and deploy applications and procedures. After installing the networked Developer Studio option, you must set up a connection to a WebFOCUS environment somewhere on your network. Developer Studio then uses the web server configuration, application server configuration, WebFOCUS Client connectivity, and WebFOCUS Reporting Server of that WebFOCUS environment.

Network installations are discussed in Configuring a Network Installation.


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Developer Studio on a WebFOCUS Machine

Developer Studio and WebFOCUS can be installed on the same machine provided WebFOCUS is installed first. The Developer Studio installation program will detect that WebFOCUS is already installed and by default, use the existing WebFOCUS environment and components. Developer Studio then runs using the existing WebFOCUS Client configuration, application root directories (APPROOT), web server aliases (virtual folders), and WebFOCUS Reporting Server. All products can co-exist and use the same WebFOCUS environment through Developer Studio or a browser.

Developer Studio can also be configured to have an independent configuration from WebFOCUS.


WebFOCUS