Portlet
Encyclopedia
Portlets are pluggable
user interface
software components that are managed and displayed in a web portal
. Portlets produce fragments of markup code that are aggregated into a portal. Typically, following the desktop metaphor
, a portal page is displayed as a collection of non-overlapping portlet windows, where each portlet window displays a portlet. Hence a portlet (or collection of portlets) resembles a web-based application that is hosted in a portal. Some examples of portlet applications are email
, weather
reports, discussion forums, and news
.
Portlet standards are intended to enable software developer
s to create portlets that can be plugged in to any portal supporting the standards.
protocol is to provide a web service
s standard that allows for the "plug-n-play" of remote running portlets from disparate sources. Many sites allow registered users to personalise their view of the website by turning on or off portions of the webpage, or by adding or deleting features. This is sometimes accomplished by a set of portlets that together form the portal.
The Java Portlet Specification
(JSR168, JSR286) enables interoperability
for portlets between different web portal
s. This specification defines a set of APIs
for interaction between the portlet container and the portlet addressing the areas of personalization
, presentation
and security
.
Apache Pluto is a reference implementation
of JSR168. In addition to the reference implementation, a number of vendors provide commercial implementations of the portlet container. Some of the leading vendors are IBM
, Oracle
, OpenText Corporation (formerly Vignette Corporation
), JBoss
, and Software AG. These vendors provide standards-based implementations as well as extensions not yet approved by the standards body. In addition, a number of open-source portal solutions support JSR168, such as Apache's
Jetspeed-2 Enterprise Portal, eXo Platform
, GateIn Portal, uPortal
and Liferay Portal.
Pluggable look and feel
Pluggable look and feel is a mechanism used in the Java Swing widget toolkit allowing to change the look and feel of the graphical user interface at runtime....
user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
software components that are managed and displayed in a web portal
Web portal
A web portal or links page is a web site that functions as a point of access to information in the World Wide Web. A portal presents information from diverse sources in a unified way....
. Portlets produce fragments of markup code that are aggregated into a portal. Typically, following the desktop metaphor
Desktop metaphor
The desktop metaphor is an interface metaphor which is a set of unifying concepts used by graphical user interfaces to help users more easily interact with the computer. The desktop metaphor treats the monitor of a computer as if it is the user's desktop, upon which objects such as documents and...
, a portal page is displayed as a collection of non-overlapping portlet windows, where each portlet window displays a portlet. Hence a portlet (or collection of portlets) resembles a web-based application that is hosted in a portal. Some examples of portlet applications are email
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
reports, discussion forums, and news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
.
Portlet standards are intended to enable software developer
Software developer
A software developer is a person concerned with facets of the software development process. Their work includes researching, designing, developing, and testing software. A software developer may take part in design, computer programming, or software project management...
s to create portlets that can be plugged in to any portal supporting the standards.
Standards
The purpose of the Web Services for Remote PortletsWeb Services for Remote Portlets
Web Services for Remote Portlets is an OASIS-approved network protocol standard designed for communications with remote portlets.-Overview:...
protocol is to provide a web service
Web service
A Web service is a method of communication between two electronic devices over the web.The W3C defines a "Web service" as "a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network". It has an interface described in a machine-processable format...
s standard that allows for the "plug-n-play" of remote running portlets from disparate sources. Many sites allow registered users to personalise their view of the website by turning on or off portions of the webpage, or by adding or deleting features. This is sometimes accomplished by a set of portlets that together form the portal.
The Java Portlet Specification
Java Portlet specification
The Java Portlet Specification defines a contract between the portlet container and portlets and provides a convenient programming model for Java portlet developers.- JSR 168 :...
(JSR168, JSR286) enables interoperability
Interoperability
Interoperability is a property referring to the ability of diverse systems and organizations to work together . The term is often used in a technical systems engineering sense, or alternatively in a broad sense, taking into account social, political, and organizational factors that impact system to...
for portlets between different web portal
Web portal
A web portal or links page is a web site that functions as a point of access to information in the World Wide Web. A portal presents information from diverse sources in a unified way....
s. This specification defines a set of APIs
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
for interaction between the portlet container and the portlet addressing the areas of personalization
Personalization
Personalization involves using technology to accommodate the differences between individuals. Once confined mainly to the Web, it is increasingly becoming a factor in education, health care Personalization involves using technology to accommodate the differences between individuals. Once confined...
, presentation
Presentation
Presentation is the practice of showing and explaining the content of a topic to an audience or learner. Presentations come in nearly as many forms as there are life situations...
and security
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
.
Apache Pluto is a reference implementation
Reference implementation
In the software development process, a reference implementation is the standard from which all other implementations, with their attendant customizations, are measured, and to which all improvements are added...
of JSR168. In addition to the reference implementation, a number of vendors provide commercial implementations of the portlet container. Some of the leading vendors are IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, Oracle
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
, OpenText Corporation (formerly Vignette Corporation
Vignette (software)
Vignette Corporation is a company headquartered in Austin, Texas, that offers a suite of content management, portal, collaboration, document management, and records management software. On May 6, 2009 Open Text Corporation announced they would buy Vignette for $310 million...
), JBoss
JBoss
JBoss Application Server is an open-source Java EE-based application server. An important distinction for this class of software is that it not only implements a server that runs on Java, but it actually implements the Java EE part of Java...
, and Software AG. These vendors provide standards-based implementations as well as extensions not yet approved by the standards body. In addition, a number of open-source portal solutions support JSR168, such as Apache's
Apache Software Foundation
The Apache Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation to support Apache software projects, including the Apache HTTP Server. The ASF was formed from the Apache Group and incorporated in Delaware, U.S., in June 1999.The Apache Software Foundation is a decentralized community of developers...
Jetspeed-2 Enterprise Portal, eXo Platform
EXo Platform
eXo Platform is an open source, open standard, Enterprise-scale portal, content management system and WebOS for Microsoft Windows and Unix-like operating systems. The eXo Platform project started in 2003 as an implementation of the first portlet API . eXo Platform is developed using Java technology...
, GateIn Portal, uPortal
UPortal
uPortal is a Java-based framework for creating enterprise web portals. It is sponsored by Jasig, a consortium of educational institutions and commercial affiliates sponsoring open source software projects focused on higher education. uPortal is open source under the Apache License 2.0...
and Liferay Portal.