ibi WebFOCUS and ibi WebFOCUS App Studio Overview and Architecture

WebFOCUS App Studio is used to develop and manage WebFOCUS applications. It is normally assumed, but not required, that WebFOCUS is installed, or will be installed, somewhere in your enterprise. In addition, WebFOCUS App Studio architecture and functionality are based on the architecture of WebFOCUS.

ibi WebFOCUS App Studio Components

There are two pieces involved when developing or administering with WebFOCUS App Studio.

  • WebFOCUS App Studio. This is the set of graphical development and code generation features that organize and create WebFOCUS applications.

    The graphical and code generation features do not process reports and access data. Instead, they connect to a WebFOCUS environment.

  • WebFOCUS Environment. After installing WebFOCUS App Studio, you can choose to connect to a WebFOCUS Environment installed elsewhere in your enterprise or use one installed locally.
    Note:

    For all other editions, including installations of the Network editions, you configure WebFOCUS App Studio to access a WebFOCUS environment you installed separately. This step is performed from within WebFOCUS App Studio.

ibi WebFOCUS Environments and Components

In a WebFOCUS environment, WebFOCUS connects a web server and/or application server to your data. End users then access WebFOCUS applications through a web browser. Your enterprise may have multiple WebFOCUS environments, each containing the following components:

  • Third-Party Web and/or Application Server. Users access WebFOCUS by making requests to a web and/or application server. WebFOCUS functionality can be implemented using Java servlet calls. When WebFOCUS App Studio communicates with WebFOCUS, it does so through the web and/or application server as well.

    Apache Tomcat™ is provided along with WebFOCUS App Studio and WebFOCUS for Windows, so no separate web or application server is required to get started. Apache Tomcat is a servlet container that WebFOCUS App Studio can use as a web server and application server.

    Note: Web servers handle traditional web content, such as static HTML and GIF files. Application servers generally handle Java and other processes, but many application servers can also handle the traditional web content. If your application server can handle traditional web content, then a web server is not required. The term application server is used to refer to either an application server or servlet container in WebFOCUS documentation. A servlet container generally handles a subset of what an application server can handle.

  • ibi™ WebFOCUS® Client This resides on the web server and/or application server. When a user makes a request to the web server from a webpage or WebFOCUS App Studio, the WebFOCUS® Client receives the request, processes it, and passes it to the ibi™ WebFOCUS® Reporting Server. The WebFOCUS Client connection is implemented through Java servlets. In addition, the WebFOCUS Client may include other WebFOCUS products and interfaces.
  • WebFOCUS® Reporting Server The WebFOCUS Reporting Server provides data access, data processing, and report generation functionality. WebFOCUS Reporting Servers reside on machines that can access your data. There can be multiple WebFOCUS Reporting Servers in a WebFOCUS environment.

WebFOCUS employs a distributed architecture. This means that the WebFOCUS Client and its WebFOCUS Reporting Servers can either be on the same machine and operating system, or distributed across multiple machines running different operating systems.

For more information on WebFOCUS components and configuration options, refer to the installation and configuration documentation for your platform.

Note: To ensure proper communication, WebFOCUS components should be the same release number as each other and WebFOCUS App Studio.

ibi WebFOCUS Processing

The following steps accompany the figure below and describe how WebFOCUS or WebFOCUS App Studio processes requests:

  1. A user makes a request and passes parameters by calling the WebFOCUS servlet through links and forms on a webpage or through WebFOCUS App Studio.
  2. The request and parameters come to the WebFOCUS Client through the web and/or application servers, and the WebFOCUS Client processes the parameters to create a request for the WebFOCUS Reporting Server.
  3. The WebFOCUS Reporting Server receives the request, processes it, and accesses any needed data.
  4. Data is retrieved from data sources to process the request.
  5. The WebFOCUS Reporting Server processes the user request using the retrieved data.
  6. The response is returned to the WebFOCUS Client.
  7. The response is returned to the user.

WebFOCUS and App Studio processing

ibi WebFOCUS App Studio Processing

WebFOCUS App Studio processes requests the same way that WebFOCUS does. WebFOCUS App Studio makes calls to a web and/or application server that is configured to accept a WebFOCUS servlet request. The servlet then connects to the WebFOCUS Reporting Server to process the request.

The web and/or application server can be located on the same machine as WebFOCUS App Studio or located elsewhere in your enterprise.

You can configure WebFOCUS App Studio to connect to WebFOCUS environments elsewhere on your network. After you are connected, you can create and edit files on the remote machines and perform application development through the Data Servers area, or use the area to perform development and administration.

For more information about WebFOCUS App Studio configurations and development environments, see the ibi™ WebFOCUS® App Studio User's Manual.

ibi WebFOCUS App Studio Networked Installation

Normally, WebFOCUS App Studio is installed on the desktop of each developer. However, a networked WebFOCUS App Studio installation option is available as well.

In a networked configuration, WebFOCUS App Studio is installed on a single shared machine, rather than each desktop. Developers then launch WebFOCUS App Studio on their desktops by executing files that have been installed on the shared machine. This simplifies administration, installation, and upgrading and it allows all developers to use a common, preconfigured environment.

A network installation of WebFOCUS App Studio includes only the GUI features and functions to develop, organize, and maintain applications and procedures. After installing the networked WebFOCUS App Studio option, you must set up a connection to a WebFOCUS environment somewhere on your network. WebFOCUS App Studio then uses the web server configuration, application server configuration, WebFOCUS Client connectivity, and WebFOCUS Reporting Server of that WebFOCUS environment.

Network installations are discussed in Appendix A. Configuring a Network Installation.