IBM FileNet P8, Version 5.2.1            

Creating Add-ons

A newly created feature add-on is automatically registered in the FileNet® P8 Global Configuration Database (GCD). After it is registered, an addon can be installed on a new or existing object store.

An add-on is a domain resource. To create an add-on, you must have domain-level write permission. An add-on is represented by an AddOn object. When you create an instance of an AddOn object, you specify the Domain object, along with a globally unique ID (GUID) that identifies the add-on in the domain's GCD.

When an AddOn object is saved, it is registered in the GCD. If an add-on ID is registered in more than one domain, it is the same for each domain.

The values set on an AddOn object are not validated when the object is saved. They are validated when the AddOn object is installed on an object store. Any invalid settings are reported as errors.

An Addon object is identified by its DisplayName property. Although not required, it is recommended that you set the object's DescriptiveText property with details of the functionality that is provided by the add-on.

Other key values that you set on an AddOn object are as follows:

Import Data Set

An import data set is an XML representation of the objects to be installed in the add-on. You must create an import data set before you can create the add-on that references it.

Add-on Import Scripts

When an add-on is installed in an object store, the objects that are defined in the XML data set are imported into the object store. You can optionally run pre-import and post-import JavaScript scripts when you install an AddOn object. For example, you might run a script to modify security or to add users and groups before objects are imported.

Note: Import scripts are started within the same transaction as the add-on's import data set, so keeping operations to a minimum is advised.
Add-on Types

You must set the AddOnType property of an add-on, which identifies the add-on as either optional or recommended. Specify as optional those feature add-ons that are not required for your system or that deal with specialized, niche functionality. A recommended feature add-on is one that is typically installed as part of most systems.

Add-on Prerequisites

An add-on might depend on other add-ons, called prerequisites, which must be installed before the dependent add-on. The prerequisites for an add-on are specified by adding their IDs to the Prerequisites property (an IdList object) of the AddOn object. To successfully install a dependent add-on to an object store, its prerequisite add-ons must be installed first. If you specify a prerequisite that is not already installed on the object store, the installation of the add-on generates an error and fails.

The order in which you install prerequisite add-ons does not matter when you have a single dependent add-on with multiple prerequisites when you install the dependent add-on last. However, the order you install the prerequisites is important if you have multiple dependent add-ons, each with one or more prerequisite add-ons. You must install the prerequisite add-ons in a sequence that ensures that they are already installed so that the dependent add-ons that identify them as prerequisites can find them.

Superseding Add-ons

When you add new versions of existing add-ons, it is important to populate the SupersededAddOnIds property of the new add-on. This information allows an older application to determine whether a required add-on is installed in an object store. For example, an application can determine whether an add-on that is registered in the GCD is also installed in an object store. The application first checks the value of the SupersededAddOnIds property of the wanted AddOn object, and then calls isAddOnInstalled with an add-on Id on the ObjectStore object.



Last updated: October 2015
addon_creating_concept.htm

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