Webtop Mediator README

  Description The webtop mediator brings the ICC system's functionality closer to you. By cutting down the web distance between client and server, this results in greater speed when accessing project data. The webtop mediator can also be customized and extended to match your (company's) needs. The webtop mediator fulfills these promises by providing local versions of services offered at the database center, supported with data caching. Additonal services can be integrated or dynamically linked into the webtop mediator. The webtop mediator is also parametrized to be adaptable to the local situation (e.g., with respect to file storage).

  Requirements The webtop mediator can be installed by any project partner. Other interested parties should contact the project leader or administrator for permission. The installation machine must have a web server installed as well as the Java Runtime Environment (JRE/JDK 1.1.5-7). The web server only needs to handle HTTP file transfer, the webtop mediator requires no CGI scripts or servlets.

  Installation Procedure The installation of the webtop mediator consist of two parts: The installation of the project web interface; and the installation of the mediator application.

  Step 1   The project web interface is installed as a single directory containing all the web support files. Minimally, this directory contains the following files and subdirectories:
  classes/       Java archives
  files/         file storage directory
  html/          HTML support files
  if-apl.html    HTML file containing the Java interface applet
  img/           GIF and JPEG support files
  index.html     HTML entry point
  javascript/    JavaScript support files
  middle-*.html  HTML layout files
  support/       Service delegates support space This directory must be given the same name as the project and be accessible via HTTP through the local web server. This directory will from here on be referred to as the web interface directory.

  Step 2   All customization of the web interface is done through the specification of applet parameters in the file if-apl.html. The first parameter is required:
  <param name=project value=projectname> The next parameter specifies whether files can be uploaded into the file storage directory (files/). The value local activates the upload facility, any other value (or omitting this parameter) deactivates it:
  <param name=upload value=local> Note: the upload facility is only available to clients running within the same file system.

  Step 3   The webtop application is a Java application running on the same machine as the web server. It consists of the following files and subdirectory:
  KeyGen.class     Key generation application class
  Mediator.class   Mediator application class
  icc/             Java support classes
  mediator.bat     application startup script (Windows)
  mediator.sh      application startup script (UNIX)
  projectname.key  public key of the database center This directory should not be accessible via HTTP. This directory will from here on be referred to as the webtop application directory.

  Step 4   Two additional files in this directory must be generated using the KeyGen application. For the webtop mediator to be able to access the database center, it must register itself. For this purpose, a key pair must be generated and the public key deposited with the database center. Run jre -cp . KeyGen within the webtop application directory to create two files named private.key and public.key. Protect your private key by ensuring that only you have access to this file. However, do not move this file as the webtop application relies on it. Submit your public key by e-mail to the project administrator (attach the public.key file), and include a registration name (e.g., company or department name). This name should not contain any spaces.

  Step 5   The application startup script (mediator.sh or mediator.bat) must be modified to reflect your runtime environment. For UNIX, this would look like:
  javapath/bin/jre -Dname=projectname
    -Dregister="registrationname" -Dbase=basepath
    -Dbaseurl="baseurl" -Dserverhost=serverhost
    -Dserverurl="serverurl"
    -cp javapath/lib/classes.zip:. Mediator &
Windows specifies different path and directory separator characters:
  javapath\bin\jre -Dname=projectname
    -Dregister="registrationname" -Dbase=basepath
    -Dbaseurl="baseurl" -Dserverhost=serverhost
    -Dserverurl="serverurl"
    -cp javapath\lib\classes.zip;. Mediator
javapath should point to the JRE/JDK directory, e.g., F:\Progra~1\jdk116 (Windows) basepath should specify the parent directory of the web interface directory, e.g., /home/tanger/oracle/Proxy/ if /home/tanger/oracle/Proxy/projectname is the web interface directory. baseurl should be the URL version of basepath, e.g., http://tanger.ethz.ch:3333/Proxy/ if http://tanger.ethz.ch:3333/Proxy/projectname/index.html provides access to the web interface. serverhost and serverurl are dependent on the configuration of the central database and will be specified by the project administrator. serverhost equals the hostname of the database center, serverurl the base URL for accessing the database center

  Step 6   As soon as the project administrator has confirmed your registration, you are ready to start the webtop application. Run the script (or batch file) in the directory it is installed:
  mediator.sh  (UNIX)
  mediator     (Windows) It is important that you run this application on the same machine as the web server. Otherwise, the interface won't have access to the application.

  Access Once the webtop mediator is running, you can access the project interface through your web server instead of the database center's server. At first, you may not notice much difference in speed because the mediator's local cache is still empty. However, as you retrieve more information, the cache's content will increase and, consequently, the speed will improve.

  Security For more information on the security aspects related to the webtop mediator, take a look at the security section of the system aspects document.

  Customization An initial customization was provided in step 2 with respect to file upload. The webtop mediator can also be extended with new services and delegates, programmed in Java. The ICC system development kit provides more information on how to write and install new services and delegates. Furthermore, you can also customize the look and feel of the web interface. If you're familiar with HTML and Javascript, you can modify the HTML support files (html/) in the web interface directory. However, if you want to make more than cosmetic changes, you should take a look at the client API in the ICC system development kit, which describes the interface API available from JavaScript.

This website has been archived and is no longer maintained.