Apache OFBiz Development: The Beginner's Tutorial

Table of Contents

• Preface

• Chapter 1: Getting Started with OFBiz
  • Getting the OFBiz Code
  • Downloading and Installing SVN
    • Downloading TortoiseSVN
    • Using SVN to Get OFBiz
      • Our OFBiz Workspace—First Look
  • Installing the Java Development Kit (JDK)
    • Downloading JDK 5.0
    • Installing JDK 5.0

• Downloading OFBiz Ready to Launch
• Setting Up an Eclipse Project
• Using Derby—the OFBiz Stock Database
  • Compiling OFBiz and Loading the Data
  • Verifying the Installation Process
    • The Compilation Portion
    • The Data Loading Portion
    • Some Pre-Ignition Processes we won't do Twice
    • Backing Up the Derby Data Files

• Running OFBiz
  • Allocating Memory for OFBiz
    • Starting OFBiz and Verifying the Start-Up Process
    • Seeing the Logs in Real Time
    • Possible Problems with Start-Up

• Switching Off OFBiz
• Our First Tour of OFBiz
  • Accessing OFBiz
  • Exploring the Webapp "ecommerce"
    • Let's Buy Something
  • Exploring the Webapp "order"
    • Receiving Payment
    • Fulfilling the Order
    • Invoice Automatically Generated with Payment Applied
  • End-to-End Tour Completed

• Summary

• Chapter 2: Working with OFBiz
  • Adding Our First Field
    • Changing the Data
      • Editing the Entity Definition
    • Updating the Database
    • Changing the Looks
      • Editing the User-Interface
    • Checking Our Changes
    • Changing the Flow
      • Rewiring the "Save" (Update Postal Address) Button
      • Creating the New Widget Screen
      • Creating the FTL File
      • More to the Flow
    • Some Changes Possible with Engines Running
  • Resetting Our Play Area Quickly
    • Skipping Some Pre-Ignition Processes
      • Restoring Derby Data Files
      • Removing the Web Server (Catalina) Work Files
      • Updating the Database with Our Data Entity Changes
    • Showing Off Our Spanking New OFBiz Installation
      • Tripping Up Our Plan
    • Storing a Save-Point to Dramatically Ease Testing
      • Archiving Derby Data Files and Web Server Work Files
    • Restoring a Save-Point
      • Restoring the Derby Data Files
      • Restoring the Web Server Work Files
      • Computer, Run Scenario A from Last Save-Point
  • The Structure of OFBiz in General
    • Components in OFBiz
    • Referencing Components in OFBiz
    • Creating Our Own OFBiz Component
      • Creating the Component
    • Using Our Component
      • Cleaning Up Our Mess in the "party" Component
    • Converting the BeanShell to a Java Event
      • Clean Extension Strategies Employed
      • Checking that Our Move was Successful
      • A Bit More Mess Remains
    • Webapps in OFBiz
      • Creating Our First Webapp
      • Webapp URIs in this Book
      • Testing Our First Webapp
  • The Model-View-Controller Architectural Pattern
    • The MVC in Plain English
      • The Model in OFBiz
      • The View in OFBiz
      • The Controller in OFBiz
      • Other Files in an OFBiz Component
  • Summary

• Chapter 3: Screen Widgets
  • Equipping Our Webapp with a Screen Widget View Handler
  • Using the Screen Widget View Handler
  • Files and Locations
  • Creating Our First Screen Widget
    • Defining a Screen Widget
    • Informing the Control Servlet about the Screen Widget
    • Referencing Screen Widgets
    • Uniform Pattern of Flow in OFBiz
    • Seeing Our First Screen Widget
  • The Anatomy of the <section> Element
    • Our First Conditional Screen Widget
    • Element Order in the controller.xml
    • Inform the Control Servlet about the Screen Widget
    • If-Then-Else Structure
      • The <if-condition> Element
      • The Then—<actions> and <widgets> Elements
      • The Else—<fail-widgets> Element
      • The Minimum <section>
    • Sending Parameters with Requests
    • Seeing Our Conditional Screen Widget
    • Screen Widget Context and Variables
      • Utility Objects in Context
  • Nested Sections for Nested Conditions
  • Organizing a Large Screen into Smaller Screens
    • The Global Context Revisited
    • Outer Contexts Visible to Nested Ones
  • Screen Widget's Integration with FreeMarker
  • Cleaning Up in the "party" Component
  • Commenting Changes to the Core Code
  • Screen Widgets as Templates
    • A Candidate for Templating
      • Creating the Header
      • Creating the Footer
      • Using Our Header and Footer
      • Seeing Our First Well-Formed XHTML Document
    • Using Decorator Screen Widgets for Templating
      • Creating a XHTML Decorator Screen
      • Using the XHTML Decorator Screen
      • Seeing Our First Decorator in Action
    • Multiple Content Slots
      • Creating the First Half of the Header
      • Creating the Second Half of the Header
      • Adding a Content Slot to a Decorator
      • Using Our Multi-Slot Decorator
      • Seeing Our First Multi-Slot Decorator
    • Nesting Decorators
      • Top-Down Approach (delegation)
      • The Bottom-Up Approach (Vertical Stack)
      • Using Both Approaches
  • Summary

• Chapter 4: Form Widgets
  • Files and Locations
  • Creating Our First Form Widget
    • Creating the Containing Screen Widget
    • Referencing Form Widgets
    • Create the Form Widget
    • Seeing Our First Form
    • Understanding the Form Attributes
      • Minimum Requirements to Use Form Widgets
      • Including the Minimal Requirements
  • Form Processing via Request Event
  • Java Events
  • Submitting and Processing Our First Form
  • The "list" Type Form Widget
    • Creating the Containing Screen
    • Adding Form Processing Code
    • Publishing the Form
    • Seeing Our First "list" Type Form
  • The "multi" Type Form Widget
    • Creating the Containing Screen
    • Loading Data for the Form
    • Publishing the Form
    • Creating the Form-Processing Logic
    • Seeing Our First "multi" Type Form
  • Alternative Targets in Two-Target Forms
    • Creating the Form
    • Creating the Containing Screen
    • Publishing the Two-Target Form
    • Seeing Our First Two-Target Form
  • Row-Level Actions
    • Creating the Form
    • Creating the Containing Screen
    • Publishing the Form
    • Seeing the Form in Action
  • Summary

• Chapter 5: Other View Element Types in Screen Widgets
  • Menu Widgets
    • Creating Our First Menu Widget
    • Including Our Menu Widget in Our Screen Widgets
      • Understanding the Menu Item Attributes
      • Including the Menu Widget via a Decorator Screen Widget
      • Add Screen Widget "ConditionalScreen" to the Menu
    • Sub-Menus and Conditional-Menu Items
    • Pre-processing Actions for Menu Widgets
  • FreeMarker
    • As Decorator Templates
    • Displaying Dynamically Created List Variables
    • Iterating Through the List
  • Bringing it All Together
    • The User-Interface Labels
    • Adding the appheader
  • Summary

• Chapter 6: The Controller
  • How OFBiz Hears Our Requests—The Control Servlet
    • Defining a Control Servlet for a Webapp
    • Using the Control Servlet
    • Funnelling All Requests to the Single Control Servlet
    • Defining Needed Utility Objects for the Control Servlet
      • GenericDelegator Object
      • The GenericDispatcher Object
    • Some Background on Servlets
  • Programming a Control Servlet
    • Logging into Our Learning Application
    • Specifying Handlers
    • Request Maps
      • Knocking on the Right Doors
      • Security—Before Answering the Door
      • The https Attribute
      • The auth Attribute
      • The direct-request Attribute
    • Event—Determining a Response
      • Java Events
      • Response—Defining Various Responses
    • View Maps
  • Summary

• Chapter 7: Entities, View Entities, and Extended Entities
  • Entities
    • The Structure of the Data Model
    • Referencing Fields of an Entity
    • OFBiz Uses Relational Database Management Systems
    • Curious Trivia about the Relational Model
    • Entity Engine Concepts
    • Datasources
    • Entity Delegators
    • Entity Groups
    • Defining Our First Entity
    • Assigning Our Entity to an Entity Group
    • Loading Our Entity into the Entity Engine
    • Seeing Our First Entity
    • Using Our First Entity
      • Creating a Drop-Down
      • Populating the Drop-Down
      • Expiring a Value
      • Un-Expiring a Value
    • Anatomy of an <entity> Element
      • The <field> Element
      • The <prim-key> Element
      • The <relation> Element
      • The <index> Element
    • Relation Types
      • One-to-One Relations
      • One-to-Many Relations
      • One-to-One Relations with No Foreign Keys
  • View Entities
    • Anatomy of a <view-entity>
      • The <member-entity> Element
      • The <alias> and <alias-all> Elements
      • The <view-link> Element
      • The <relation> Element
    • Applying Functions on Fields
      • Counting the Number of Records
      • Counting Distinct Records
      • Arithmetic Aggregate Functions
      • Uppercase and Lowercase Functions
    • Grouping for Summary Views
    • Complex Aliases
      • Nested <complex-alias> Elements
  • Extending Entities
  • Summary

• Chapter 8: Accessing the Entities and View Entities
  • Setting-Up Our Playground
    • The Script Processor
    • The Generic Screen
      • Creating the Screen Widget
      • Creating the Form Widget
      • Creating the FreeMarker File
      • Publishing Our Generic Screen
    • Testing Our Playground
  • GenericValue Objects
  • Creating a Database Record
    • Why a Map is Used?
  • Updating Database Records
  • Deleting Database Records
  • Retrieving Database Records
    • Find Records by Conditions
      • Conditions
      • Comparison Operators (EntityComparisonOperator)
      • Condition Lists
      • Condition Joiners (EntityJoinOperator)
    • Tools for Common Styles of Conditions
      • Conditions Joined by AND
      • Conditions Joined by OR
      • Counting the Number of Records Retrieved
      • OFBiz Date Condition
    • Getting Related Records
      • One-to-One Relations
      • One-to-Many Relations
    • Utilities for Post-Query processing
      • Post-Query Ordering
      • Post-Query Filtering by Conditions
      • Post-Query Filtering by Date
      • Other Post-Query Filtering Methods
  • Using the Entity Engine Cache
  • Dynamic View Entities
    • Left Outer Joins with the Dynamic View Entity
    • Performing the Lookup
    • EntityFindOptions
  • Paginating Using the EntityListIterator
    • Paginating through Party Records: A Working Example
  • Functions and Dynamic View Entities
  • Summary

• Chapter 9: The Events
  • Java Events
    • Security and Access Control
      • User Logins are like Access Cards
      • Security Groups are like Access Levels
      • Security Permissions are like Individual Secured Areas
      • Security Permissions are Contained within Security Groups
      • User Logins are Assigned Security Groups
    • Dealing with Security in Java
    • Sending Feedback to the End-User
      • Conventions for Message Placeholders
      • Testing the Conventions
    • Handling Parameters
    • Accessing Localized Messages
      • Parameterizing Messages
      • Catering for Multiple Languages
  • Working with the Database
  • Summary

• Chapter 10: The Service Engine
  • Defining a Service
  • Creating the Java Code for the Service
  • Testing Our First Service
  • Service Parameters
    • Input Parameters (IN)
    • Output Parameters (OUT)
    • Two Way Parameters (INOUT)
    • Special Unchecked Parameters
    • Optional and Compulsory Parameters
  • The DispatchContext
  • Service Security and Access Control
  • Calling Services from Java Code
  • Implementing Interfaces
    • Overriding Implemented Attributes
  • Synchronous and Asynchronous Services.
  • Using the Job Scheduler
  • Quickly Running a Service
  • Naming a Service and the Service Reference
  • Event Condition Actions (ECA)
    • Service Event Condition Actions (SECAs)
    • Entity Event Condition Actions (EECAs)
  • Summary

• Chapter 11: Permissions and the Service Engine
  • Simple Permissions
  • Two-Part Permissions and Special "_ADMIN" Permissions
  • Role Checks
  • Combining Multiple Checks
  • Nested Checks
  • Complex Permissions
    • Setting-Up Our Playground
      • Creating the Request and View Maps
      • Creating the Screen and Form Widgets
      • Creating the Entity PlanetReview
      • Defining Services that Require Complex Permission
      • Implementing Services that Require Complex Permission
      • Defining Permission Services
      • Implementing Permission Services
    • Playing with Complex Permissions
      • Complex Permissions and Simple Permissions cannot be combined
  • Summary

• Chapter 12: Minilang
  • What is Minilang?
    • Tools to Code XML
  • Defining a Simple Service
    • Defining the Simple Service
    • Writing the Simple Method
  • Simple Events
  • Validating and Converting Fields
    • Validating a Simple Event Example
  • Checking Security in Minilang
  • Invoking from Minilang
    • Calling Services from Minilang
    • Calling Simple Methods
    • Calling Java Methods
    • Calling BeanShell
  • Minilang in Screen Widgets
  • Summary

• Chapter 13: Tying Up the Loose Ends
  • The OFBiz Look and Feel
    • Changing the Customer Facing Site
    • Changing the Back Office Screens
      • The Header
      • The Applications Bar (appbar)
      • The Central Area
      • The Footer
  • Using FreeMarker
    • OFBiz Transform Tags
      • <@ofbizUrl>
      • <@ofbizContentUrl>
      • <@ofbizCurrency>
    • Calling Java from FreeMarker
  • OFBiz Utilities
    • UtilMisc
    • UtilValidate
    • UtilDateTime
    • Debug

• Outputting Different Formats
  • Outputting a PDF

• Summary

• Chapter 14: Tips and Techniques
  • Debugging Techniques
    • Logging
      • console.log
      • ofbiz.log
    • Configuring the Logs
    • Viewing the Logs through Webtools
    • Writing Information to the Logs
    • Logging Minilang
  • Debugging Java Code
    • Passing in the VM Parameters
    • Configuring the Remote Debugger

• Managing a Project Using Subversion
  • Preparing the Repository and Creating the Project
    • Step 1: Checking Out the Latest OFBiz Code
    • Step 2: Making a Copy
    • Step 3: Importing Our Copy
    • Step 4: Branching ofbiz\current to Create the Trunk
  • Getting the Latest Features and Bug Fixes
    • Step 5: Updating OFBiz Current
    • Step 6: Merging Changes between Revisions of OFBiz Current into Our Project

• Apache HTTP Server and OFBiz using mod_proxy_ajp
  • Installing the Apache HTTP Server
  • What is mod_proxy_ajp?
  • Configuring Apache HTTP Server to Use mod_proxy_ajp
  • Configuring OFBiz to Use the AJP Connector
  • Getting the Secure Pages to Work
    • Configuring SSL in Apache
    • Creating a Self-Signed SSL Certificate
    • Going into Production

• Development Tips
• Summary

• Appendix A: Simple Method User's Guide
  • <simple-methods>
  • <simple-method>

• Call Operations
  • <call-map-processor>
  • <call-service> / <call-service-asynch>
  • <set-service-fields>

• Handling the Results of Service Calls
  • <results-to-map>
  • <result-to-field>
  • <result-to-request>
  • <result-to-result>
  • <call-bsh>
  • <call-simple-method>
  • <call-object-method>
  • <call-class-method>

• Service Operations
  • <field-to-result>

• Event Operations
  • <session-to-field>

• Environment Operations
  • <set>
  • <clear-field>
  • <first-from-list>

• Miscellaneous Entity Operations
  • <sequenced-id-to-env>
  • <make-next-seq-id>

• Entity Find Operations
  • <entity-one>
  • <entity-and>
  • <entity-condition>
  • Sub-Elements
  • <condition-list>
  • <having-condition-list>
  • <select-fields>
  • <order-by>
  • <entity-condition> complete example:
  • <entity-count>
  • <get-related-one>
  • <get-related>
  • <order-value-list>
  • <filter-list-by-and>
  • <filter-list-by-date>

• Entity Value Operations
  • <make-value>
  • <clone-value>
  • <create-value>
  • <store-value>
  • <refresh-value>
  • <remove-value>
  • <remove-related>
  • <remove-by-and>
  • <set-pk-fields> / <set-nonpk-fields>
  • <store-list>

• Control Operations
  • <iterate>
  • <iterate-map>
  • <check-errors>
  • <add-error>
  • <return>

• If Conditions
  • <if-validate-method>
  • <if-instance-of>
  • <if-compare>
  • <if-compare-field>

• Conditions:
• Other Operations
  • <log>
  • <now-timestamp-to-env>
  • <now-date-to-env>
  • <set-current-user-login>
  • <calculate>

• Index

Jonathon Wong

Rupert Howell

I found this book to be an enormously helpful introduction to OFBiz development.

Sample chapters

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