What is Repository Web Explorer?

Repository Web Explorer is a browser interface for JCR compliant in general and ModeShape in particular  repositories.  Repository Web Explorer provides the bulk of functionality for browsing and managing repositories.

Here are some of the additional features of Repository Web Explorer:

• Browse repository nodes

• Add/Remove/Edit nodes

• Manage node types

• Edit node properties

• View/Download/Upload binary content

• Backup/Restore repositories

• Execute queries

Requirements

The only requirements is a compliant servlet container. The specific of that depend on what is a container and repository.

Configuration

Web explorer is a regular Java web application and it allows configuration via context parameters specified in web.xml. The cooperation between browser and repositories is archived through Connector interface. Connector interface exposes repositories and some additional administrative functions. The detailed view of this interface is as follows:

public interface Connector extends Serializable {
    /**    
      * Starts this connector using given context.    
      *     
      * @param config     
      */   
    public void start(ServletContext context) throws RemoteException;       
    /**    
     * Logs in with given credentials.    
     *     
     * @param username the user name
     * @param password user's password.
     */   
     public void login( String username, String password );
    /**
     * Logs out.
     */
    public void logout();
    /**
     * Gets name of user currently logged in.
     *
     * @return user name or null if not logged yet.
     */
    public String userName();
    /**
     * Gets list of all available repositories.
     *
     * @return the collection of repository names
     */
    public Collection<RepositoryName> getRepositories();
    /**
     * Searches repository with given name.
     *
     * @param name the name of the repository to search.
     * @return repository instance or null if not found.
     * @throws RemoteException if there is an error getting the repository
     */
    public LRepository find( String name ) throws RemoteException;
    public Collection<RepositoryName> search( String name ) throws RemoteException;
}

Reference to the concrete implementation can be specified in the web.xml using context-parameter element

<context-param>
  <param-name>connector-class</param-name>
  <param-value>org.modeshape.web.server.impl.ConnectorImpl</param-value>
</context-param>

Repository explorer ships with two Connectors developed for ModeShape repositories: the first connector allows the Explorer to access repositories bound in JNDI (this connector is used when ModeShape is deployed as subsystem inside the WildFly application server) and second starts & accesses a ModeShape repository from regular JSON configuration file.

<context-param>
  <param-name>connector-class</param-name>
  <param-value>org.modeshape.web.server.impl.ConnectorImpl</param-value>
</context-param>

<context-param>
  <param-name>jndi-prefix</param-name>
  <param-value>jndi-name-of-modeshape-repository</param-value>
</context-param>

<context-param>
   <param-name>connector-class</param-name>
   <param-value>org.modeshape.web.server.impl.JsonConfigConnectorImpl</param-value>
</context-param>

<context-param>       
 <param-name>config-url</param-name>
 <param-value>path-to-json-config</param-value>
</context-param>

Using the Web Explorer

There are 2 ways in which the Web Explorer web application can be used:

• inside the JBoss Application Server together with the ModeShape subsystem

• standalone by customizing it and adding your own configuration

<subsystem xmlns="urn:jboss:domain:modeshape:2.1">
  <webapp name="modeshape-explorer.war"/>
</subsystem>

Navigation

Web Explorer contains five main tabs, each of which provides management page for a aspect of the repository:

• Explore The "Explore" page on controls content of the repository. Using this page user is able to browse content, add, remove or edit node. Change properties of the node, etc;

• Node Types The "Node Types" page on provides web-based management interface for node types management functions;

• Descriptor The "Descriptor" page on shows repository parameters;

• Query "Query" page on allows user execute query;

• Admin "Admin" page on provides access to the administrative functions and metrics.

Explore tab

Explore tab displays repository contents. Using this tab user can browse nodes, add new nodes, rename or delete node. Explore tab includes additional tabs:

• Children tab which displays child nodes of the selected node;

• Properties tab displays node properties

• Access list tabs displays access rights of the selected node.

Node types.

Node types page displays all registered node types.

Descriptor page

Descriptor page display repository parameters

Query page

Query page provides interface to the query engine. This page contains query editor and query language select and table which displays result.