TIBCO WebFOCUS Components

Reference:

To develop and publish reporting applications to the web, you need software components that manage the flow. A WebFOCUS system comprises several components, including:

More detailed descriptions of each component follow the diagram.

App Studio enables you to build, test, and publish reporting applications using Windows-based graphical tools, optionally supplemented by manual coding for maximum customization. App Studio tools handle a wide range of tasks, including report, graph, and form design.

The web browser is responsible for displaying web pages that may include reports, and graphs returned by the query. WebFOCUS works with Microsoft® Internet Explorer®.

The web server handles requests by fetching HTML files from and returning them to the browser. When webpages contain calls to the WebFOCUS client, the web server launches the WebFOCUS client, which collects variables and sends the request to the WebFOCUS Reporting Server.

The application server processes user interface logic, runs servlets and compiles JSPs.

The WebFOCUS client resides on the web server. It is implemented as Java servlets. WebFOCUS works with any standard web server that supports the selected option. These include Microsoft, IBM®, and NCSA-compatible web servers.

The WebFOCUS Reporting Server is responsible for accessing data, processing business logic, and generating fully styled output. It stores report procedures, WebFOCUS StyleSheets, and metadata (data source descriptions). You need one or more WebFOCUS Reporting Servers to run procedures and to access data sources.

Optional WebFOCUS sub-servers access data on remote platforms sources.

Data. A single server can access multiple types of data. For each type of DBMS, a data adapter must be installed.

Procedures. Procedures can reside on a WebFOCUS Reporting Server or a sub-server. At run time, the procedure requested by the WebFOCUS client is accessed by the WebFOCUS Reporting Server and executed. Procedures may call other procedures. Called procedures also reside on a WebFOCUS Reporting Server or sub-server.

Three additional diagrams will help you visualize how these components work together, in three integrated phases, to form a total development to publishing solution.

Reference: Phase 1: Develop and Test a Project

  1. The application developer creates metadata (synonyms) for data sources on the server.
  2. The application developer creates an application in App Studio, using graphical tools (supplemented by code, if desired). The application consists primarily of reporting procedures and HTML forms from which the procedures can be launched. The procedures and HTML files are stored on a server.
  3. The developer runs and tests procedures and HTML forms. With each test, the request passes to a web server, through the WebFOCUS Client, to a WebFOCUS Reporting Server, which retrieves the data and processes the request. During the testing process, WebFOCUS uses the Master File and Access File on the server to interpret and access the data.
  4. The WebFOCUS Reporting Server then sends the results back to the WebFOCUS client, which returns it to the web server for display.

Reference: Phase 2: Partition and Publish Project Components

After testing has been completed (in phase 1), the developer publishes the application.

Presentation logic resides on the web server, and user interface logic resides on the WebFOCUS Reporting Server.

The developer can manually add other project components, such as image files, class files, and Cascading Style Sheets to the appropriate server.

Reference: Phase 3: Run the Published Application From the Web

  1. A user opens a launch page in a web browser and selects a report. The launch page, through the web server, calls the WebFOCUS client. The request specifies the report procedure to be executed, as well as any parameters and values required by the procedure. Optionally, HTTP environment parameters set by the user connection to the web server may be passed to the procedure. The procedure name and all parameters are passed to the WebFOCUS client, which resides on the web server of your company.
  2. The WebFOCUS client instructs the WebFOCUS Reporting Server to open an agent process for the request. The agent locates and executes the procedure.
  3. The report procedure requests data from the data source (for example, Oracle). The data source may be local to or remote from the WebFOCUS Reporting Server. If it is remote, it is accessed through an intermediate sub-server, not shown in this simplified diagram.
  4. The WebFOCUS Reporting Server compiles the answer set from the data source.
  5. The WebFOCUS Reporting Server formats the answer set in the requested format (for example, HTML, PDF, Excel 2000), and returns the report output to the web server.
  6. The web server passes the report output to the user browser. The browser displays the report in an HTML page or calls the appropriate desktop product, based on the file format, to display the output.