How to extend SiteVision

The functionality in SiteVision can be extended in a number of ways. Below you will find a list of different ways this can be accomplished, and detailed information on how to develop Java portlets that can be deployed in SiteVision..

HTML

The simplest way to extend SiteVision is to create static HTML files or create a dynamic application whose content can be imported into SiteVision pages by using HTML iFrame's. The HTML portlet in SiteVision can be used to create the iFrame and point to your content or application.

If you want you can put the static HTML content in the file archive of SiteVision and use WebDAV URL's to refer to it in the HTML portlet. This way relative links between HTML files will work properly and you will not need a separate storage for the HTML content.

iFrame portlet

If you have a separate web application and it requires the user to login you can use the iFrame portlet in SiteVision to automatically login the user to the application. See the documentation for the iFrame portlet for more information.

Script portlet

For many simpler cases the script portlet provides a convenient way to write a script in the JavaScript or Velocity scripting languages which will perform the function desired.

Proxy portlet

If you have a separate web application, written in any language, and you want to integrate it in SiteVision in such a way that the user cannot see that it is a separate application you should use the proxy portlet.

This portlet implements a technique known as "web clipping". This means that the portlet will access and fetch content from a configured location, transform it using XSLT rules that you provide, and then present the result as a part of the final page. The content fetched in this way can use the CSS styles defined by SiteVision, or extend it with its own. This ensures that the end user does not see any difference between the regular SiteVision page and the content provided by the underlying application.

This also means that the end-user browser will never access any part of the application directly, which can be crucial from a security perspective, as the application does not have to be accessible from the end-users computer. This provides a way to securely provide access to a application located on an internal network.

Java portlet (JSR 168 / JSR 286)

The most flexible way to extend SiteVision is to develop a portlet according to the Portlet API specification (often referred to as JSR 168 and JSR 286). Portlets are developed in the Java language and can utilize the JEE API's to implement the desired functionality.

XML import

If you have existing content that you want to import into SiteVision, either only once or regularly, there is a Web Service available that will allow you to upload content in RDF/XML format, and which will generate SiteVision objects and content corresponding to the given data.

To use this you need the Java client which can be used to invoke the Web Service and a RDF/XML document with the appropriate content. If you want to upload content to a remote server you will also need the system account login info in order to authenticate yourself to the Web Service.

RSS

SiteVision has the ability to import and export RSS feeds. Several RSS feeds can be aggregated and presented using the SiteVision news portlet. SiteVision supports RSS 0.94, 1.0 and 2.0.