Ed Chen and Marina Sum have written a very interesting new paper on how to import the PS7 inter-portlet communication libraries into Java Studio Creator.  It walks you through how the inter-portlet communication (IPC) library in Portal Server 7 works, how to import the library into Creator, how to tie an IPCEventBean to the default SessionBean,  and then shows how to create a demo portlet that can be deployed with the existing IPC examples in PS7.

Check it out here: Building IPC Portlets for Sun Java System Portal Server 7 With Sun Java Studio Creator 2

I am a bike nut and I bike to work almost every day.  And I'm a big supporter of alternative transportation, so I'm really glad to see Sun supporting Bike to Work Week during JavaOne.


Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend JavaOne.  Because if I was, I'd be first in line for that valet (and the drawing!)

JBoss Portal has the AJAXPortlet (developed by Sun Portal) deployed in their demo install.  See the portlet in action at http://portal.demo.jboss.com  It is also available at their PortletSwap website.

Some very useful entires at Navaneeth's Portal Zone.  Hop on over there and check them out.  Watch the entire Sun Portal Server install process in his online demo.  And he has just started a series on Portlet Programming Guidelines.  This will be really useful for new portlet developers looking to avoid the confusion and gotchas of a new API.

Alert to portlet developers using Sun Portal Server 7!  There is a pretty serious bug in the 7.0 release that will make it appear the Portal Server is swallowing up exceptions thrown by your portlet.  This will make debugging your portlet very difficult. [Read More]

This problem with Creator's themes and portlets has come up before, so I thought I'd explain it and mention some possible workarounds. [Read More]

A new tech tip paper was just published on How to Navigate Between Pages in a Portlet Application.  The point is that some of the JSF components in Creator (hyperlink, breadcrumbs, tree, and alert) function differently for portlet applications than the do for typical web applications.  This paper documents the differences.

If you are using Creator2 to build portlets and if you are using Sun Java Portal Server, you will want to bookmark this new tutorial - Deploying a Portlet to Sun Java Portal Server

The tutorial covers alot:

• handling the exported war file
• configuring EJBs
• configuring JDBC data sources
• deploying to PS6
• deploying to PS7
  

After two "early access" releases and lots of hard work, Creator 2 has shipped.  Key for portlet developers because of the new JSR-168 portlet support.  Check out David Botterill hauling pumpkins to get the job done!

Download it today.

Several months ago I wrote an article on using AJAX with portlets.  There were a couple of comments that came in that I wanted to try to address. [Read More]

The new tutorial, "Building a GoogleSearch Web Service Portlet", outlines how to use the Google Search web service bundled with Java Studio Creator.  For simplicity... [Read More]

The press release makes it official.  Portal Server 7 is shipping.  The press release implies it's available for download now, but the download pages are still serving up Portal 6.  Wait until next week, the PS7 bits should hit the site then.

The collaboration features are definitely the highlight.  The portlet features in Creator are also mentioned "...including drag and drop portlet development using the Sun Java Studio Creator".

Update: Portal Server 7 bits are now available for download.

Sun is going to make almost all it's software freely available.  The idea being, it eases adoption (it's free afterall) and builds developer mindshare.  Business-wise, the idea is revenue is generated through fees for support and services.

At the same time PC makers are traveling a similar path.  PC prices are tumbling, while at the same time warranties are getting shorter and tech support fees are rising.  PC makers re coup their costs through services revenues.  With $300 PCs ($400 laptops), will we see the hardware become free?  Some analysts feel Apple is feeling the pressure to lower it's entry-level prices and the switch to Intel will help that.

The model is not foreign to many consumers already.  Look at your mobile phone.  How much did you pay for it?  Probably nothing (or close to it).  But, how much is your monthly service bill?  How much do you spend annually on mobile service?

So, big news for portlet developers...finally portlet spec 2.0 is taking off.  JSR 286 was announced today.  Highlights include:

• alignment with WSRP 2.0
• inter-portlet communication
• alignment with JSF
• support for CC/PP data via JSR 188

JSR-168 is way behind where WSRP 2.0 has lead, so there is catching up to do there.  Inter-portlet communication is probably the most commonly requested feature for portlets and is already provided through extensions to JSR-168 from IBM and Sun's Portal Server 7, so it's time to formalize it in the spec.  Support for CC/PP means better support for portlets on mobile devices.

And aligning portlets with JSF is good news for Java Studio Creator.  Creator's new portlet development feature is based on JSF portlets.  JSF is a powerful framework and Creator makes it a snap to create slick portlets, so tying them more closely together formaly in the spec means improved funcationality for portlet developers using JSF and Creator.

...and in other news, now you can do it all for free.  With today's Sun Solaris ES announcement, you can download Java ES (including Sun Portal Server) and Creator for free and take them for a spin.