You think you are an Alfresco expert ... well, read this book and think again. This is actually my conclusion and I was thinking about only having that sentence in this review, because while reading this you are wasting your precious time as you could read the Alfresco Developer Guide.
For sure this is not a book for "Java enterprise" novice people and some knowledge and understanding of the Java enterprise stack is required to fully enjoy your reading time. Since I am working with Alfresco for more than 3 years now, I had some development habits that sometimes were not that good, which I realized after reading this book.
You know or you heard about JBPM, the workflow engine Alfresco is using, it is not a problem, a complete guide is explaining all you need to know to start writing your own flow and to get it deployed. Creating your application model, customizing actions, localizing your messages ... nothing is a secret any more.
If you want to learn how to get all the benefits out of your "electronical" content then check out the "chapter 4" and see how to add your own content extraction, create business specific content transformation or use Alfresco's Java behavior cut points. After all, an enterprise solution should be able to provide easy integrations with other systems, especially for SSO and LDAP - you want it, Alfresco's has it, Jeff Potts explains it.
If you are still fan of JSF than you could learn how to customize the default Alfresco User Interface, which is JSF based or learn how to write a custom UI using the webscript framework.
Jeff also helps you to bring some best practices in your Alfresco development and deployment lifecycle. However, I would prefer to see some more words about Alfresco Module Packages.
This book was published just before Alfresco 3.0 Enterprise edition was released and is based on Alfresco 2.2 and 3.0 Labs (or community version). Alfresco did some refactoring but nothing was changed that should bother you. Do not be afraid of getting the book as this is probably the best Alfresco book written for developers by a, more than professional, developer.
Alfresco's ECM capabilities are explained by example but you would like to see Alfesco's WCM possibilities, simply check the "chapter 8" and you will find anything you need to start using it.
Do you still think you are an expert ? :) I do not ...
Book details could be found at http://www.packtpub.com/alfresco-developer-guide/book
Showing posts with label cms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cms. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Startup company : iCodix and the Jibe framework
I was pretty busy these days with being involved in a startup openings and now as a co-founder I am glad to announce its name iCodix. Our aim is to provide Java consulting services and Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solutions, especially based on the Alfresco platform. At this stage, where iCodix is just starting, we have an ajax based UI framework for Alfresco called Jibe (former AlfExt).
Jibe is a complete UI framework based on the javascript ExtJS library. It is tight to the Alfresco configuration and each UI component is configured on the server side and thus is easily reusable.
A lot of components are already implemented and some of them can be seen in the demos available here. However, one could add very quickly new components or layouts as there are a lot of 'cut' points' on which it is possible to attach any behavior or interaction with other systems.
Jibe's architecture was thought the way to easy the developer's work and to allow the developer to concentrate on the real problem and not to play around with javascripts anymore. Although, if new components are needed than for sure you have to write some javascript, but at least the need is minimum as there are existing components which are used the most in the business world, like panels, tabs, grids, labels, combo boxes, date pickers, tree lists and a few others.
Jibe is an addon to the Alfresco platform and we consider it as a UI framework for Alfresco, which is not yet replacing the complete Alfresco feature set but it is not said it will not. Alfresco is also working on some new UIs but they do not target the same market and the same level of integration. Jibe's components are all linked by events and thus it is easy to catch an event on some node or properties and to show or to act in any other component.
An integration with Groovy is implemented in Jibe and from now on if you are using Jibe, it is not needed to restart the server as far as the UI components configuration is concerned as well as the Groovy services that are integrating third party codes with the Jibe UI.
The deployment is done as any other Alfresco modules and Jibe coexists with the exiting Alfresco JSF client as well as with any other Alfresco UI clients. The Jibe framework contains a core module and other modules which are enabling different parts of the system like repository browsing or workflow management.
As an example of how an application could reuse Jibe and its powerful integration aspect, we integrated the opensource VoIP Asterisk server as a module where Alfresco is turned into a call/contact center, where Alfresco users are becoming agents and where documents are linked to incoming or outgoing calls. With the power of jBPM it is not that hard to implement a predictive dialer within the same and user friendly UI.
Well, our opinion is that Jibe is the UI layer where you could integrate different applications and to allow it to look as one. It comes out of the box with a powerful content management system which is Alfresco and it can turn on your world and your business :)
More about Jibe architecture can be found here. Although it is an old description but it could give you some ideas.
Jibe is a complete UI framework based on the javascript ExtJS library. It is tight to the Alfresco configuration and each UI component is configured on the server side and thus is easily reusable.
A lot of components are already implemented and some of them can be seen in the demos available here. However, one could add very quickly new components or layouts as there are a lot of 'cut' points' on which it is possible to attach any behavior or interaction with other systems.
Jibe's architecture was thought the way to easy the developer's work and to allow the developer to concentrate on the real problem and not to play around with javascripts anymore. Although, if new components are needed than for sure you have to write some javascript, but at least the need is minimum as there are existing components which are used the most in the business world, like panels, tabs, grids, labels, combo boxes, date pickers, tree lists and a few others.
Jibe is an addon to the Alfresco platform and we consider it as a UI framework for Alfresco, which is not yet replacing the complete Alfresco feature set but it is not said it will not. Alfresco is also working on some new UIs but they do not target the same market and the same level of integration. Jibe's components are all linked by events and thus it is easy to catch an event on some node or properties and to show or to act in any other component.
An integration with Groovy is implemented in Jibe and from now on if you are using Jibe, it is not needed to restart the server as far as the UI components configuration is concerned as well as the Groovy services that are integrating third party codes with the Jibe UI.
The deployment is done as any other Alfresco modules and Jibe coexists with the exiting Alfresco JSF client as well as with any other Alfresco UI clients. The Jibe framework contains a core module and other modules which are enabling different parts of the system like repository browsing or workflow management.
As an example of how an application could reuse Jibe and its powerful integration aspect, we integrated the opensource VoIP Asterisk server as a module where Alfresco is turned into a call/contact center, where Alfresco users are becoming agents and where documents are linked to incoming or outgoing calls. With the power of jBPM it is not that hard to implement a predictive dialer within the same and user friendly UI.
Well, our opinion is that Jibe is the UI layer where you could integrate different applications and to allow it to look as one. It comes out of the box with a powerful content management system which is Alfresco and it can turn on your world and your business :)
More about Jibe architecture can be found here. Although it is an old description but it could give you some ideas.
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