WebFOCUS and App Studio Overview and Architecture

There are two pieces involved when developing or administering with App Studio.

• App Studio. This is the set of graphical development and code generation features that organize and create WebFOCUS applications.

  The graphical and code generation features do not actually process reports and access data. Instead, they connect to a WebFOCUS environment.

• WebFOCUS Environment. This is a complete installation of WebFOCUS. When you install App Studio, it will create a development environment. This allows local, stand-alone development. After installing App Studio, you can choose to connect to a WebFOCUS Environment installed elsewhere in your enterprise or use one installed locally.

  Note: For all other editions, including installations of the Network editions, you configure App Studio to access a WebFOCUS environment you installed separately. This step is performed from within App Studio.

In a WebFOCUS environment, WebFOCUS connects a web server and/or application server to your data. End users then access WebFOCUS applications through a web browser. Your enterprise may have multiple WebFOCUS environments, each containing the following components:

• Third-Party Web and/or Application Server. Users access WebFOCUS by making requests to a web and/or application server. WebFOCUS functionality can be implemented using Java servlet calls. When App Studio communicates with WebFOCUS, it does so through the web and/or application server as well.

  Apache Tomcat™ is provided along with App Studio and WebFOCUS for Windows, so no separate web or application server is required to get started. Apache Tomcat is a servlet container that App Studio can use as a web server and application server.

  Note: Web servers handle traditional web content, such as static HTML and GIF files. Application servers generally handle Java and other processes, but many application servers can also handle the traditional web content. If your application server can handle traditional web content, then a web server is not required. The term application server is used to refer to either an application server or servlet container in WebFOCUS documentation. A servlet container generally handles a subset of what an application server can handle.

• WebFOCUS Client. This resides on the web server and/or application server. When a user makes a request to the web server from a webpage or App Studio, the WebFOCUS Client receives the request, processes it, and passes it to the WebFOCUS Reporting Server. The WebFOCUS Client connection is implemented through Java servlets. In addition, the WebFOCUS Client may include other WebFOCUS products and interfaces, such as Managed Reporting.

  A scaled-down WebFOCUS Client is installed with App Studio. The functionality available is based on the App Studio edition for which you are licensed. An embedded Derby database is also installed with stand-alone versions of App Studio. It is used for authentication purposes.

• WebFOCUS Reporting Server. The WebFOCUS Reporting Server provides data access, data processing, and report generation functionality. WebFOCUS Reporting Servers reside on machines that can access your data. There can be multiple WebFOCUS Reporting Servers in a WebFOCUS environment. A WebFOCUS Reporting Server is always installed with App Studio because some components are required by the development features and functions.

WebFOCUS employs a distributed architecture. This means that the WebFOCUS Client and its WebFOCUS Reporting Servers can either be on the same machine and operating system, or distributed across multiple machines running different operating systems. You can easily connect an Apache web server running on UNIX to Microsoft SQL Server data on Windows and Db2 data on z/OS.

For more information on WebFOCUS components and configuration options, refer to the installation and configuration documentation for your platform.

Note: To ensure proper communication, WebFOCUS components should be the same release number as each other and App Studio.

The following steps accompany the figure below and describe how WebFOCUS or App Studio processes requests:

1. A user makes a request and passes parameters by calling the WebFOCUS servlet through links and forms on a webpage or through App Studio.
2. The request and parameters come to the WebFOCUS Client through the web and/or application servers, and the WebFOCUS Client processes the parameters to create a request for the WebFOCUS Reporting Server.
3. The WebFOCUS Reporting Server receives the request, processes it, and accesses any needed data.
4. Data is retrieved from data sources to process the request.
5. The WebFOCUS Reporting Server processes the user request using the retrieved data.
6. The response is returned to the WebFOCUS Client.
7. The response is returned to the user.

App Studio processes requests the same way that WebFOCUS does. App Studio makes calls to a web and/or application server that is configured to accept a WebFOCUS servlet request. The servlet then connects to the WebFOCUS Reporting Server to process the request.

The web and/or application server can be located on the same machine as App Studio or located elsewhere in your enterprise.

• Local Web and/or Application Server. When you install App Studio, you can choose to install and configure a web and/or application server. Manual configuration instructions are also provided in Configuring the Web Server or Application Server. Using a local web and/or application server creates a development environment and allows you to process requests on the App Studio machine.
• Remote Web Server. If you do not want to use a local web or application server for WebFOCUS processing, you can configure App Studio to connect to WebFOCUS environments elsewhere on your network. After you are connected, you can create and edit files on the remote machines and perform application development through the Data Servers area, or use the domain area to perform Managed Reporting development and administration.

You can also use a combination of local and remote processing.

For more information about App Studio configurations and development environments, see the WebFOCUS App Studio User's Manual.

Normally, App Studio is installed on the desktop of each developer. However, a networked App Studio installation option is available as well.

In a networked configuration, App Studio is installed on a single shared machine, rather than each desktop. Developers then launch App Studio on their desktops by executing files that have been installed on the shared machine. This simplifies administration, installation, and upgrading and it allows all developers to use a common, preconfigured environment.

A network installation of App Studio includes only the GUI features and functions to develop, organize, and maintain applications and procedures. After installing the networked App Studio option, you must set up a connection to a WebFOCUS environment somewhere on your network. App Studio then uses the web server configuration, application server configuration, WebFOCUS Client connectivity, and WebFOCUS Reporting Server of that WebFOCUS environment.

Network installations are discussed in Configuring a Network Installation.

App Studio and WebFOCUS can be installed on the same machine, provided WebFOCUS is installed first. The App Studio installation program will detect that WebFOCUS is already installed and, by default, use the existing WebFOCUS environment and components. App Studio then runs using the existing WebFOCUS Client configuration, application directories, web and/or application server aliases and context roots (virtual folders), and WebFOCUS Reporting Server. All products can co-exist and use the same WebFOCUS environment through App Studio or a browser.

App Studio, when installed on the same machine as WebFOCUS, can also be configured to have an independent configuration from WebFOCUS. This can be accomplished by providing a custom alias during the installation.