Webjects

A webject is a command that executes a specific Info*Engine feature that has been provided through an external webject name. To include a webject in your JSP page or task, use the Info*Engine webject and parameter custom tags. Using custom tags requires no knowledge of programming beyond basic JSP coding techniques. The Info*Engine custom tags are used in the same manner as other JSP tags. They help determine how information appears within a web page or define information that can be manipulated by a program. Webjects can be added to any JSP page or task and can be used to dynamically organize and manipulate information.

Think of webjects as specialized objects that distill complicated programming into abstract or condensed terms. These specialized objects can be reused without requiring changes by a programmer, and each time the object is used, it can return different results. While understanding how to write webjects is important to the success of an Info*Engine solution, for now simply understanding the various types of webjects should help you understand how Info*Engine manages data.

The following types of webjects are available:

Display webjects can only be specified in JSP pages (or a custom application). In a display webject, you name an existing group that Info*Engine then codes for display. For more information, see Display Webjects for HTML.

Image webjects display JPEG images based on group data. The data is displayed in a graph or a chart. For more information, see Image Webjects for JPEG.

Query webjects search external databases for objects that match specified criteria. Each adapter supports a unique set of query webjects because the adapter must handle queries differently due to the nature of the underlying data repositories.

When Info*Engine encounters a query webject, it passes the webject to the appropriate adapter. The adapter then performs the specified query. The group of objects returned by a successful query is stored by Info*Engine. Thus, making the results available to other webjects. For more information, see Task Webject Reference.

Administrative webjects perform specific administrative functions, such as gathering simple statistics, or causing service properties to reload at runtime. For more information, see Administrative Webjects

Action webjects perform actions such as creating, copying, and updating. Each adapter supports a unique set of action webjects because the actions relate directly to the data repository to which the adapter connects.

When Info*Engine encounters an action webject, it passes the webject to the appropriate adapter. The adapter then performs the specified actions. For more information, see Task Webject Reference

Group webjects compare, combine, or sort one or more existing groups of data that have been generated as a result of other query, action, or group webjects. For more information, see Group Webjects.

Management webjects provide some common functions, such as getting properties, mapping credentials, and throwing exceptions that can be useful in managing your JSP pages or tasks. For more information, see Management Webjects

Message webjects provide a set of webjects that can be used in conjunction with a third-party MOM for generic messaging functions and task queuing functions. For more information, see Message Webjects

Web Event Service webjects provides a set of webjects that can be used in conjunction with a third-party MOM (or JMS service) for handling Info*Engine events. For more information, see Web Event Service Webjects

Query, administrative, action, group, management, message, and Web Event Service webjects can be specified in either JSP pages or in standalone tasks, and are often referred to as “task” webjects.

You can also create external custom webjects by writing custom Java code. With custom webjects, you have access to all internal classes of Info*Engine and can extend the functionality of Info*Engine. External custom webjects are dynamically loaded by Info*Engine and can be available to any task or JSP page.