How Requests Are Handled (by Portal Runtime) 

The Portal Runtime is an HTTP servlet (called prt) contained in a Java EE application (called irj), which runs in the AS Java Web container. The servlet is the entry point for all requests, which are handled by the following components of the Portal Runtime:

●      Dispatcher: This is the prt servlet that receives the request. It selects the appropriate connection based on the request parameters, and passes the request to this connection.

●      Connection: The connection does the following:

¡        Treats servlet request and forwards it to the request manager (for the standard Portal Runtime connection, called portal).

¡        Creates portal request and response objects for the request.

¡        Manages user authentication

¡        When requested, creates URLs for this connection.

¡        Defines the hooks for the request. For more information on Hooks, see Hooks.

·        Request Manager: The request manager does the following:

○       Builds the POM tree and processes POM and request events.

○       Executes the portal components involved in the request and retrieves the content.

·        Object Broker: The object broker manages the creation and lifecycle of all portal component and service objects. It manages all class loading and dependency issues.

Developers of portal applications have the greatest control in what occurs within the request manager, especially what occurs during the creation of the POM tree and content, as described in Portal Object Model (POM).