Developing Applications for the Portal

The SAP NetWeaver Portal provides your organization a single point of access to enterprise applications, information repositories, databases and services, all integrated into a single user experience. The portal is the Web front-end of SAP NetWeaver.

With its role-based content and personalization features, the portal enables users – from employees and customers to partners and suppliers – to focus exclusively on data relevant to their daily decision-making.

The portal also includes an API to enable application developers to do the following:

●      Develop Web Dynpro applications that take advantage of portal functionality.

For example, you can add to your application portal navigation features, or change the way the application is displayed in the portal.

●      Access portal content and objects from within a Web Dynpro or Java EE application.

For more information on creating iViews from portal applications, see Integrating Applications into the Portal.

How to Use This Section

This section is designed for anyone developing Web Dynpro or Java EE applications that run in the portal.

This section contains the following:

●      Portal APIs: This section describes the portal-related Java APIs, for example, for accessing the PCD or automating the creation of portal content.

●      Developing Web Dynpro Applications for the Portal: This section describes how to develop Web Dynpro applications that take advantage of portal functionality, for example, for triggering portal navigation.

●      Modifying the Portal Look and Feel: This section describes how to modify the look and feel of the portal, for example, by creating page layouts and wizards.

This section is relevant when using the portal standalone, and not exclusively as a producer of content for another portal.

Prerequisites

●      Developers should be familiar with how the portal works, specifically, how portal users and administrators work with it. Become familiar with basic concepts, such as:

○       Portal Content Directory (PCD), and the creation of iViews, pages, roles and other portal objects

○       Navigation

○       Personalization

For more information, see the portal Administering the Portal.