WebFOCUS Components

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To develop and deploy reporting projects to the web, you need software components that manage the flow. A WebFOCUS system comprises several components, including:

More detailed descriptions of each component follow the diagram.

Developer Studio, the recommended WebFOCUS development environment, enables you to build, test, and deploy reporting projects using Windows-based graphical tools, optionally supplemented by manual coding for maximum customization. Developer Studio tools handle a wide range of tasks, including report, graph, and form design.

The web browser is responsible for displaying webpages that may include reports, and graphs returned by the query after the project has been deployed. WebFOCUS works with Microsoft® Internet Explorer®.

The web server handles requests by fetching HTML files from and returning them to the browser. When webpages contain calls to the WebFOCUS client, the web server launches the WebFOCUS client, which collects variables and sends the request to the WebFOCUS Reporting Server.

The application server processes user interface logic, runs servlets and compiles JSPs.

The WebFOCUS client resides on the web server. It is implemented as Java servlets. WebFOCUS works with any standard web server that supports the selected option. These include Microsoft, IBM®, and NCSA-compatible web servers.

The WebFOCUS Reporting Server is responsible for accessing data, processing business logic, and generating fully styled output. It stores report procedures, WebFOCUS StyleSheets, and metadata (data source descriptions). You need one or more WebFOCUS Reporting Servers to deploy and run procedures and to access data sources.

Optional WebFOCUS sub-servers access data on remote platforms sources.

Data. A single server can access multiple types of data. For each type of DBMS, a data adapter must be installed.

Procedures. Procedures can reside on a WebFOCUS Reporting Server or a sub-server. At run time, the procedure requested by the WebFOCUS client is accessed by the WebFOCUS Reporting Server and executed. Procedures may call other procedures. Called procedures also reside on a WebFOCUS Reporting Server or sub-server.

Three additional diagrams will help you visualize how these components work together, in three integrated phases, to form a total development to deployment solution.

For a step-by-step overview of this process, see the Developer Studio Application Development Getting Started manual.


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Reference: Phase 1: Develop and Test a Project

  1. The application developer creates metadata (synonyms) for data sources on the server.
  2. The application developer creates a project in Developer Studio, using graphical tools (supplemented by code, if desired). The project consists primarily of reporting procedures and HTML forms from which the procedures can be launched. The procedures and HTML files are stored on a server.
  3. The developer runs and tests procedures and HTML forms. With each test, the request passes to a web server, through the WebFOCUS client, to a WebFOCUS Reporting Server, which retrieves the data and processes the request. During the testing process, WebFOCUS uses the Master File and Access File on the server to interpret and access the data.
  4. The WebFOCUS Reporting Server then sends the results back to the WebFOCUS client, which returns it to the web server for display in the Developer Studio built-in browser.

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Reference: Phase 2: Partition and Deploy Project Components

After testing has been completed (in phase 1), the developer runs the Deploy Wizard, identifying the WebFOCUS Reporting Server that will receive the deployed application.

The wizard partitions the components of the project between the web server and the WebFOCUS Reporting server: it places the presentation logic on the web server and the user interface logic on the WebFOCUS Reporting Server. The developer can manually add other project components, such as image files, class files, and Cascading Style Sheets to the appropriate server in the Deploy Wizard.

The wizard then copies, or deploys, the partitioned files to the designated server.


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Reference: Phase 3: Run Deployed Application From the Web

If you used WebFOCUS before it was integrated with Developer Studio, you will recognize this as the same processing flow that has always applied when self-service applications are launched from a web browser. What has been added is the ease of development and deployment described in phases 1 and 2.

  1. After the self-service application is deployed (in phase 2), a user opens a launch page in a web browser and selects a report. The launch page, through the web server, calls the WebFOCUS client. The request specifies the report procedure to be executed, as well as any parameters and values required by the procedure. Optionally, HTTP environment parameters set by the user connection to the web server may be passed to the procedure. The procedure name and all parameters are passed to the WebFOCUS client, which resides on the web server of your company.
  2. The WebFOCUS client instructs the WebFOCUS Reporting Server to open an agent process for the request. The agent locates and executes the procedure.
  3. The report procedure requests data from the data source (for example, Oracle). The data source may be local to or remote from the WebFOCUS Reporting Server. If it is remote, it is accessed through an intermediate sub-server, not shown in this simplified diagram.
  4. The WebFOCUS Reporting Server compiles the answer set from the data source.
  5. The WebFOCUS Reporting Server formats the answer set in the requested format (for example, HTML, PDF, Excel 2000), and returns the report output to the web server.
  6. The web server passes the report output to the user browser. The browser displays the report in an HTML page or calls the appropriate desktop product, based on the file format, to display the output.

WebFOCUS