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6.6.0.5: Using the Application Assembly Tool interface

6.6.0.5: Using the Application Assembly Tool interface

The Application Assembly Tool interface includes the following:

  • A main window for creating, viewing, and editing the content and assembly properties of Web modules, EJB modules, application client modules, and J2EE applications.
  • Property dialog boxes for creating new objects and for accessing and modifying properties for a module. The tool uses the property values to automatically generate deployment descriptor files for the module.
  • Wizards for quickly creating modules. Wizards gather minimum requirements for creating the module and generating the deployment descriptor. They prompt for required information and use default values where applicable.

The main Application Assembly Tool window consists of two panes: the navigation pane on the left and the property-editing pane on the right. The navigation pane provides a view of the contents of the module being created or edited. The property-editing pane displays property dialog boxes for the component or property group selected in the opposite pane.

  • The navigation pane. This is a hierarchical (tree) view of a module's contents, assembly properties, and files. The first object in the tree is the display name of the module or application. An icon in the tree represents each of the following:
    • Modules in the application (EJB modules, Web modules, or application client modules).
    • Components of a module (for example, entity beans and session beans for EJB modules).
    • Groups of properties for the module or component. For example, Web components have properties for security role references, initialization parameters, and page lists.
    • Files making up the module.

    The navigation pane is used to review the content and structure of a module and to select components or property groups. Selection of a component or property group allows its properties to be entered or edited in the property pane.

  • The property pane. By default, this pane displays property dialog boxes for the item selected in the opposite pane. If the selected item is an object type (for example, entity bean), the instances of the type are displayed in the top portion of the pane. The properties for the instance are displayed on the bottom portion of the pane. When an instance is selected, the corresponding property dialog box is displayed in the bottom portion of the pane.

When the property pane is disabled, its contents are dependent on the item that is selected in the navigation pane, as follows:

  • If a module folder is selected (for example, Web Modules), the names of all WAR files are displayed.
  • If an archive file is selected (for example, a JAR file), the property groups for that archive are displayed.
  • If an object type is selected (for example, Web Components), the instances of that object type are displayed. In this example, servlets and JSP files are displayed.
  • If an object instance is selected (for example, an entity bean instance), the property groups for the instance are displayed.
  • If a property group icon is selected, the property values are displayed in table form.
  • If the Files icon is selected, a complete list of files for the module are displayed.

The property pane can be disabled by clicking View->Show Property Pane to toggle the selection.

You can adjust the width of the panes by dragging the split bar left or right. In the property-editing pane, you can also adjust the width of the columns of properties by dragging the edge of the column left or right.


The navigation pane

The navigation pane displays contents and associated assembly properties in an indented tree outline. The tree hierarchy for an application (EAR file) is as follows:

  • Application display name
    • EJB Modules (folder)
      • JAR files
        • Session beans
          • Session bean instances
          • Properties for session bean instances
        • Entity beans
          • Entity bean instances
          • Properties for entity bean instances
        • Security roles
        • Method permissions
        • Container transactions
        • Files
    • Web Modules (folder)
      • Web applications
        • Web components
          • Web component instances (servlets or JSP files)
          • Properties for the Web component instance
        • Properties for the Web application
        • Assembly property extensions
        • Files
    • Application Clients (folder)
      • Application client instances
      • Properties for application client instances
    • Security Roles (for the application)
    • Files

Clicking the plus (+) and minus (-) symbols (or double-clicking an item) expands and collapses the tree to reveal the content of each folder or icon. The tree can also be navigated by using the up- and down-arrow keys to move through the branches and leaves and the left- and right-arrow keys to expand and collapse the tree. Folders and icons can be expanded to reveal their contents. For example, when the Web Modules folder is expanded, the individual Web applications (WAR files) contained in the module are revealed. When the icon for a Web application is expanded, icons for the Web components (servlets or JSP files), assembly properties, and individual files in the application are revealed.

In a J2EE application, the first level of the hierarchy is the display name of the application. The second level consists of folders, one for each type of module in the application and one for the security properties that apply to the application as a whole. Beneath each folder representing a type of module, the module's components are listed. For example, beneath the EJB modules folder, icons represent the individual JAR files in the module. Beneath the JAR file, icons represent session beans, entity beans, assembly properties, and files in the JAR. Clicking the icon for entity beans reveals all entity bean instances in the module. Expanding an entity bean instance reveals icons for various categories of properties for the bean.

Clicking an item (an archive file, enterprise bean instance, or property icon, for example) in the navigation pane causes its corresponding property dialog box to be displayed in the property pane (if properties have been set).


The property dialog boxes

The property dialog boxes allow you to define the contents of a new module, make modifications to an existing module, or duplicate a module in full or in part by cutting and pasting archive files and property values. This method is especially useful for assembling multiple modules with similar contents. Using a property dialog box also provides access to the complete listing of properties, whereas the wizards expose only the minimum required and more-frequently used properties that must be defined for the module. Default values are used where applicable. On the property dialog box, the fields for required properties have a red asterisk (*) next to them. When using the property dialog box, you can access help for any of the properties or examine the definitions of the default properties already provided.

A property dialog box is used to enter, view, or modify values. Each property dialog box contains one or more of the following tabs. Clicking a tab opens a window containing a group of properties. Note that not all tabs are present for all property groups.

  • General. These properties represent standard J2EE deployment descriptors.
  • Icons. These properties specify the location of JPEG or GIF files used as icons to represent the component in a GUI.
  • IBM Extensions. The IBM deployment descriptor extensions are additions to the standard descriptors for J2EE applications, Web applications, and enterprise beans. The extensions allow you to specify properties that enable Enterprise Edition or legacy (older) systems to work in the WebSphere Application Server environment. They also allow you to specify behavior that is vendor specific, undefined in a current specification, or expected to be included in a future specification. For example, isolation level attributes determine how isolated one transaction is from another. This property can be set for individual methods in an enterprise bean or for all methods in the enterprise bean. Isolation level attributes are defined in the extensions layer.
  • Bindings. Binding information contains references to the external resources and enterprise beans required by a module. This information is used by the container to locate a resource in the JNDI namespace. The logical names specified for binding properties are later resolved (in the administrative console) to the registered JNDI name for an enterprise bean's home interface and for resource manager connection factories. The bindings specified for a module in the Application Assembly Tool can be changed prior installing the module in an application server.

The wizards

The wizards allow you to quickly create a module with the minimum required information. Using wizards is ideal for testing and prototyping purposes. If you wish to specify additional properties for your module, such as extensions and binding information, use the property dialog boxes. (After using a wizard, you can continue to edit the properties of a module or add new properties; this is done by using the property dialog boxes.) The property dialog boxes allow you to specify values for all properties, whereas the wizards prompt you to specify required properties and other more frequently used properties. On wizards, the fields for required properties have a red asterisk next to them. When using the wizards, you can access help for any of the properties or examine the definitions of the default properties already provided.

Go to previous article: Overview of editing property files by hand Go to next article: Modifying and adding modules to applications

 

 
Go to previous article: Overview of editing property files by hand Go to next article: Modifying and adding modules to applications