Using InLine for SilverStream Development

This page describes SilverStream support for InLine Standard, a third-party development tool that simplifies the process of building Enterprise JavaBeans. InLine provides a full suite of facilities for developing, assembling, and deploying Enterprise JavaBeans on Java application servers. InLine Standard also lets you generate EJBs from Rational Rose models. InLine Standard works with several popular IDEs, including SUN's Forte Community Edition, WebGain's VisualCafe, and Borland's JBuilder.

This page includes the following topics:

• About SilverStream integration with InLine

• Configuring InLine to work with SilverStream

• Deploying EJBs to SilverStream from InLine

About SilverStream integration with InLine   

SilverStream provides a plug-in to InLine Version 2.0 that allows you to deploy EJBs created outside SilverStream to a SilverStream server. The SilverStream plug-in to InLine uses the information in the deployment descriptor, along with some additional information provided during deployment, to ensure that the beans execute properly in the SilverStream runtime environment.

You can deploy any EJB JAR that conforms to the EJB 1.1 specification to SilverStream. The JAR must contain the Enterprise JavaBean classes, the home and remote interfaces for each EJB in the JAR, a deployment descriptor that uses the EJB 1.1 DTD (ejb-jar_1_1.dtd), and any supporting components (utility classes, images, and so forth). You can create the EJB JAR in InLine or in another third-party tool.

NOTE   If you create the EJB JAR in InLine, be sure to specify package names for the interfaces and the implementation so that the code generated for your EJBs will compile correctly.

About the deployment plan   

You specify all additional information required for deployment in a deployment plan. The Deployment Plan Designer provides a simple user interface for specifying the deployment plan. The deployment plan is stored in XML format in a file on disk. It is not uploaded to the server.

The information required for the deployment plan varies depending on what's in the EJB JAR.

For all EJB deployments

You must:

• Enable or disable the deployed object

• Map roles to security principals for those EJBs that have security principals

For each EJB contained in the EJB JAR

You must:

• Specify a JNDI name

For container-managed entity beans

You must:

• Map each entity bean to a data source (such as a database table)

• Map entity bean's persistent fields to database columns

• Specify finder methods

• Specify whether to delay instantiation of the EJB

You can deploy the same EJB JAR multiple times with different deployment plans.

What happens when you deploy   

When you deploy EJBs to a SilverStream server, SilverStream creates the runtime classes that implement the bean's home and remote interfaces, and any other environment-specific classes that the container needs to run the bean(s) supplied in the EJB JAR.

At deployment time, the SilverStream server constructs a deployed object and a remote EJB JAR in the SilverStream database. The original EJB JAR is not actually deployed; it just provides the raw materials for the construction of the deployed object and remote JARs.

The deployed object includes the implementation classes for the bean's remote and home interfaces. It is used only by the SilverStream server.

The remote JAR file includes stub or reference classes that you can use to call the server-side implementation classes. All clients should use the remote JAR. This includes SilverStream clients within the same server, forms served to JRunner by the same server, SilverStream clients within another SilverStream server, and stand alone Java programs. You need to include this remote JAR in SilverStream forms, pages, and business objects. You need to add this JAR to your path if you are accessing EJBs from an external client.

For convenience, the remote JAR also includes each bean's home and remote interface and any classes directly referenced by them. For example, it includes any classes referenced as parameters or return values. In general, the remote JAR includes any of the classes a caller needs to use the bean.

Configuring InLine to work with SilverStream   

To use the SilveStream plug-in to InLine, you first need to install a third-party development tool that works with InLine (such as VisualCafe Expert edition or JBuilder). Then you need to install InLine Version 2.0. Once you've completed these steps, you're ready to install the SilverStream plug-in and configure InLine to work with SilverStream.

To install the SilverStream plug-in to InLine:

1. Run the SilverStream install program and select the InLine integration option.

   

   This dialog appears when you select Typical Install as your installation type. You can also install the SilverStream plug-in to InLine by selecting Custom Install. To do this, choose InLine integration in the list of options available for the Integration Packages component.

   NOTE   You do not need to install the JBuilder or VisualCafe integration to use the SilverStream plug-in to InLine.

2. Specify the InLine installation directory in the Choose Destination Location dialog box.

   

When you install the SilverStream plug-in to InLine, the install program performs these steps:

• Puts the SilverInline.jar file in the InLine-directory\Plugins directory. The SilverInline.jar file contains the classes required for the plug-in.

• Installs several help files in the InLine-directory\Documentation\SilverStream\books directory.

• Launches the InLine configuration utility (drive-letter:\InLine-directory\bin\configure.exe), where you tell InLine where to find SilverStream and the third-party development tool you will be using.

To configure InLine to work with SilverStream:

1. In the InLine configuration utility, click on the name of the third-party development tool you will be using (for example, VisualCafe).

2. Check the Use this module check box and type the path to the third-party installation directory.

   

3. Click SilverStream under the heading for the third-party tool.

4. Check the Use this module box and type the path to the SilverStream installation directory.

   

For VisualCafe, the InLine configuration utility adds an entry to the plugins.properties file in the VisualCafe\InLine directory to identify the factory class for the SilverStream plug-in:

  plugin.factory.1=com.sssw.integ.inline.AgAddInFactory 

NOTE   If you use VisualCafe as your development tool, you need to modify the compiler preferences in the SilverStream Designer to use the VisualCafe version of the compiler. In the Preferences dialog in the SilverStream Designer, set the path for the compiler to the bin directory under the VisualCafe installation directory. If you don't do this, you will probably get an error message when you try to compile in SilverStream indicating that -sysclasspath is an invalid option. This is because the VisualCafe version of the compiler is later than the version that ships with SilverStream. After you install VisualCafe, the compiler picks up the sc.ini file from VisualCafe, and gets the invalid flag from there.

Deploying EJBs to SilverStream from InLine   

To deploy EJBs to SilverStream from InLine:

1. Start the development tool you will be working with (for example, VisualCafe).

   You should see a top-level menu for Inline.

2. Select Inline>About Inline Standard. If everything is correctly installed, you should see a dialog with a SilverStream tab.

3. Create a new project in your development tool.

   In VisualCafe, for example, select File>New Project, then select the Empty Project icon and click OK. Once you've created the new project, click on the project window, select File>Save, and give the project a name.

4. Create your EJB classes and home and remote interfaces.

   NOTE   Be sure to specify package names for the interfaces and the implementation to avoid getting compile errors later on.

5. Specify your SilverStream project options:
   • Select Inline>Project Options.

   • In the left pane of the InLine Standard Options dialog, select SilverStream Project Options under App Server.

   • Specify the host name for the server in the Server Name field. If the port number is not 80, you need to specify the port number as well.

   • Specify the target database in the Database Name field.

   • Specify the path to an XML file that will contain the deployment plan in the Deployment Plan Name field.

     

6. Specify your assembly project settings:
   • In the left pane of the InLine Standard Options dialog, select Assembly.

   • Specify the name of the the EJB JAR you want to deploy in the Default Filename for EJB Assembly JARs field. When you generate the EJB JAR, InLine saves the file with the name you specify in this field.

   • Click OK.

     

7. Create the EJB JAR:
   • Select InLine>EJB Component Editor.

   • Select the Assembly tab at the bottom of the dialog.

   • Select Tools>Generate EJB JAR.

8. Start the Deployment Plan Designer:
   • Select InLine>EJB Component Editor.

   • Select the Assembly tab at the bottom of the dialog.

   • Select Tools>Deployment>Deploy to SilverStream.

     The Deployment Plan Designer appears.

     

9. In the Deployment Plan Designer, specify details about the deployment plan and select File>Save and Deploy.

   The deployed object and the remote JAR are uploaded to the designated server. In the SilverStream Designer, you can see the deployed object and the remote JAR in the Jars folder under EJB JARs & Media.

       For complete details about using the Deployment Plan Designer, see Deploying EJBs.