Setting Up and Developing for ASP.NET

Setting up your development system for developing a Process Open Client application within the ASP.NET Framework involves installing PJAC for Open Client and installing the Process Development Environment for Open Client. In addition, this topic provides a programmer overview on developing an ASPX-hosted Process applet in conjunction with the FileNet Open Client web application on an ASP.NET platform. Also included are guidelines and known issues related to developing FileNet Open Client ASPX pages to host Process applications. An understanding of FileNet Open Client, IDM COM, ASPX and the ASP.NET Framework are prerequisites for this topic.

Subtopics include:

Setting Up for ASP.NET Process Development

For information on setting up your development system, Open Client directory structures, and developing for ASP.NET, see the following Help documentation:

Process Programmer Overview

In the FileNet Open Client model, web server-based ASPX pages are developed in order to enable user-designed applets to perform customized FileNet functions in a manner that is comparable to the functionality provided for FileNet Process ActiveX clients (for FileNet Web Services 3.x). The ASPX pages host the applets so that they can be launched either from the Open Client web application or via email notification messages. The ASPX page acts as the Controller layer of the .NET MVC model. The ASPX page provides both the View layer (incorporating the various User, Factory, and other Controls that provide the user interface) and the Model layer (the XML data provided by the Data Providers) components in the form of a .NET Web Form, which is generated by the .NET Web Form Designer and is supplied to the client browser in response to the browser's HTTP request.

For Process applets, such as an Open Client HTML Step Processor, you typically use the ASPX page primarily to define the user view. You typically do your imports, define classes, specify event handling, initialization and instantiation, declare your functions, code your business and process logic, and so on, in the ASPX code-behind file.

Modifications to the user view as provided in the ASPX page are accomplished in two ways:

The Open Client User Controls are a set of VB.NET .ascx files provided by FileNet that, in conjunction with Control Factory controls and the .NET server controls (and associated .NET classes), provide the building blocks of the Open Client user interface (the "View" part of the MVC model). Open Client User Controls either display the data, or they represent available operations for the displayed data, or some combination of these. Each User Control defines its data format (for example, XML for Process applet controls).

In addition to the Open Client User Controls, you can, if you wish, also use the standard .NET controls and .NET class libraries to help customize the user interface defined in the ASPX page. Normally, you use the .NET controls and classes in those instances where the presentation element is not already provided by an available FileNet-provided User Control.

For additional information, see the FileNet Open Client Developer's Guide Help provided with your FileNet Open Client Installation CD.

Guidelines and Issues on Creating Process Open Client ASPX Pages

If you are developing an Process Open Client application, you must use the JiGlue COM Bridge to provide a translation layer between the Data Providers and the Java-based Process services (the JiGlue COM Bridge provides the ability to make VB.NET, etc. calls to the Process Java API with the effect of native Java statements for most Win32 programming tasks). For a variety of reasons, including the fact that FileNet IDM COM objects run under the Single Threaded Apartment (STA) model whereas JiGlue runs under the Multi-Threaded Apartment (MTA) model, there are a number of guidelines and known JiGlue and other COM-related issues to keep in mind when creating your ASPX pages and User Controls.

For information on these issues and guidelines, see Using JiGlue with ASP.NET - Issues and Guidelines.