Chapter 3. Starting the Project with JBoss Portal

3.1. Creating a Dynamic Web Project
3.2. The Project Structure Overview
3.3. Adding a Java Portlet to the Project
3.4. Deploying a Portlet to JBoss Portal

To get started with JBoss Portal and JBoss Tools, you should first have a Web Project pointed to the JBoss Portal Runtime. Thus, in this chapter we are going to show you how to create a Dynamic Web Project, add Java Portlet to it and deploy it to the JBoss Portal.

3.1. Creating a Dynamic Web Project

To create a Dynamic Web Project, go to File > New > Dynamic Web Project if you are in the Web Perspective or File > New > Other > Web > Dynamic Web Project in any other Perspective. The first page of the New Dynamic Web Project wizard looks as follows.

Figure 3.1. New Dynamic Web Project

Fill out the name of your project. Next, click the New button in the Target Runtime section to specify a new Target Runtime. Choose JBoss Community > JBoss 4.2 Runtime and select the Create a new local server checkbox. Click Next.

Figure 3.2. New Server Runtime

On the next page you should give a name to the runtime. Let's call it JBoss Portal 2.7 Runtime , and then point it to the location of your JBoss AS + Portal installation.

Figure 3.3. New Server Runtime Environment

Note:

The JBoss Tools Portlet feature has been tested using 2.6.5 and 2.7.0.ALPHA versions of JBoss Portal. Remember, if you want to use Portlet version 2.0 (JSR-268), you have to choose JBoss Portal 2.7.

At this point a new JBoss Server instance will be created. Here you can verify the defined runtime information. If something is incorrect, press Back to return on the previous wizard page.

Figure 3.4. Target Server

Click Finish.

On the next step you should click the Modify button next to the Configuration section to enable Portlet Facets for the project.

Figure 3.5. Setting the Project Configuration

On this page you should check the JBoss Core Portlet and press OK .

Figure 3.6. Enabling the Portlet Facet

Note:

If the portlet libraries aren't available in the runtime you targeted, JBoss Portlet facets will be hidden on this page.

To made portal functionality always visible no matter what the runtime support, you should go to Window > Preferences and then JBoss Tools > JBoss Portlet and deselect Check runtimes for Portlet Components checkbox (see figure below).

Figure 3.7. JBoss Runtime Preferences

The next page is for configuring web modules. Here all values are set, so you can leave everything as it is.

Figure 3.8. The Project Web Modules

Finally, the last wizard page will ask you to add JBoss Portlet capabilities to your project. Here you can choose whether to set up user libraries, libraries provided by server runtime or not include libraries at all.

To set up server runtime libraries, you need to select Libraries provided by server runtime in the list box.

Figure 3.9. Including Server Runtime Libraries

For setting up user libraries, select User library in the list box and then press Add in the User Library section.

Figure 3.10. Adding User Library

Then press New and type the user library name in the appeared dialog.

Figure 3.11. Adding User Library

Next add necessary jar's.

Figure 3.12. Adding the Portlet API Jar

Hit OK. The user library will be added.

Figure 3.13. User Library Added

If you don't need to include libraries at all, just deselect the Enable implementation library checkbox.

Figure 3.14. Disabling Implementation Libraries

After setting JBoss Portlet capabilities press Finish.

That's it! Our base project is done.

3.2. The Project Structure Overview

Now, let's look at the structure of the just created project.

Figure 3.15. The Project Structure Overview

Here JBoos Tools added JBoss Portlet facet to the project, created an empty portlet.xml file and added the Portlet library to the project classpath.

3.3. Adding a Java Portlet to the Project

At this point we'll show what the steps you need to proceed to add a new Java Portlet to the project.

Call the Create Portlet wizard by selecting New > Other > JBoss Tools Web > Portlet > Java Portlet.

Figure 3.16. New Java Portlet

The wizard fills in the Web Project and Source Folder fields for you. Then you need to specify the Java package and the Class name and click Next .

Figure 3.17. Specifying Class File Destination

On the other page you will be able to set the display name of the Portlet, a title, a description, the supported modes and init parameters.

Figure 3.18. Specifying Class File Destination

On the next screen you can define which methods from GenericPortlet you want to override.

Figure 3.19. Specifying Class File Destination

The last screen lets you build JBoss Portal specific descriptors to create an instance during the deployment and place it directly on the Portal.

Figure 3.20. Specifying Class File Destination

Tip:

If you uncheck the Create Portlet Instance checkbox, JBoss Tools won't create the deployment elements in the default-object.xml and portlet-instances.xml files.

Once Java Portlet is created, new resources have been added to the project structure. As you can see on the figure below, it adds a Java Portlet class ( TestPortlet.java in our case), default-object.xml and portlet-instances.xml files and updates portlet.xml as well.

Figure 3.21. The structure of Web Project with Java Portlet created

Thus, now the Project is ready to be built and deployed.

3.4. Deploying a Portlet to JBoss Portal

You can deploy the created project in the way you deploy any other Web Application. Right click on the project and do Run As > Run On Server and accept the defaults. On the Add and Remove Projects page move the created Project to the right and click Finish.

Figure 3.22. Deploying the Portlet Application

It will deploy the Portlet Web Application and start JBoss AS.

Tip:

You should use http://localhost:8080/portal URL to see your Portlet in the Browser.

In the Browser the Portlet looks as follows:

Figure 3.23. Java Portlet in the Browser Window

Consequently, here you learnt how to create a Dynamic Web Project, add Java Portlet to it and deploy the project to JBoss Portal.

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