Overview | Package | Class | Tree | Deprecated | Index | Help
PREV PACKAGE NEXT PACKAGE | FRAMES NO FRAMES

## Package com.fujitsu.iflow.dmsadapter.intf

This package contains Interfaces to the Interstage BPM Document Management System.

See:
Description

Interface Summary
DmsAdapter | This interface acts as a factory for DMS session objects.
DmsSession | The DmsSession interface supports the checking-in and checking-out of documents in the Document Management System (DMS).

## Package com.fujitsu.iflow.dmsadapter.intf Description

This package contains Interfaces to the Interstage BPM Document Management System. The DMS Adapter manages the storage and retrieval of forms, attachments and templates for Interstage BPM. The DMS Adapters that ship with Interstage BPM use the Microsoft Windows 2000 User Manager, the UNIX file system, or WebDAV.

## WebDAV Support

Interstage BPM supports WebDAV compliant DMS systems. However, you must configure it to do so. Use the instructions in this section to configure your system, so you can use WebDAV DMS directories.

To configure Interstage BPM to use WebDAV DMS directories:

1. Modify the twf.ini to include the WebDAV folder in the DMSRoot as follows (the example uses the IflowAttachmentsRepository folder):

DMSAdapterDebugFile=C:\\fujitsu\\ibpm\\bin\\DMSAdapter.log
DMSAdapterName=<HOST>DMSAdapter
DMSFileSeparator=\\
DMSFileTransferProtocol=RMI
DMSRoot=C:\\ibpm_attachments\\,c:\\fujitsu\\ibpm\\taskmanager\\iflowjsp\\
FormsRepository\\,http://<HOST>/IflowAttachmentsRepository

2. Modifiy c:\fujitsu\ibpm\bin\DmsCollections.xml to include the http:// <HOST>/IflowAttachmentsRepository DMS root as follows:

<DmsCollections>
<Dms>
<Path>C:\\ibpm_attachments\</Path>
<ImplementationClass>com.fujitsu.iflow.dmsadapter.impl.FileSystemDmsSessionImpl</ImplementationClass>
</Dms>
<Dms>
<Path>c:\fujitsu\ibpm\taskmanager\iflowjsp\FormsRepository\</Path>
<ImplementationClass>com.fujitsu.iflow.dmsadapter.impl.FileSystemDmsSessionImpl</ImplementationClass>
</Dms>
<Dms>
<Path> http://<HOST>/IflowAttachmentsRepository</Path>
<ImplementationClass>com.fujitsu.iflow.dmsadapter.impl.WebDAVDmsSessionImpl</ImplementationClass>
</Dms>
</DmsCollections>

3. Restart the Interstage BPM Server and start testing all of the Attachments functionality. Do not use the IflowAttachmentsRepository to store the generated forms.

## Checking Documents In and Out of the DMS

Interstage BPM uses a reference implementation of checking documents in and out from the DMS. The DMS Adapter supports both checking in and checking out of new and old documents in the DMS. Files reside in the DMS where they are organized into containers of some sort--usually folders. Interstage BPM client access permissions are confined to the part of file system that is intended to be visible in the DMS. Thus, to check a document out of the Server machine, it must be visible in the DMS.

## The Operation of the DMS Adapter

The complete process of checking a document in or out depends on the model-layer DocRepository interface and DMS interface working together with the DMS as follows:

When you ask the DMSSessionObject interface to check something out, for example, it uses RMI to copy the targeted document to the DMS, as well as locking it if it is being checked out for editing.

## Security Issues

The DMS Adapter depends on the DMS to provide, support, and enforce the file system access control for all details and functions. The DMS Adapter must therefore have access to all files and directories in the DMS file section.

Interstage BPM's DMS Adapter is configured to be able to do just that. In Microsoft Windows 2000, it is given permission to act as part of the operating system. In Solaris, Interstage BPM signs onto the system as the superuser. Because of this, you should research what you're trading off before implementing any access controls in LDAP.

## Interstage BPM Keeps the DMS Independent from the Structure of Interstage BPM

The Interstage BPM engine isolates itself from the actual documents that it manages in the same ways that it separates itself from the definition of a role. In the Interstage BPM Server, a document is represented by two strings. One of these strings represents the file name. The other represents the path.

Beyond the handling of the two strings, the Interstage BPM engine has no concept of the documents themselves, nor does it handle them. Documents are passed back and forth between the DMS and model layer of Interstage BPM.

This is a very important feature because it means that documents do not need to reside in a repository that Interstage BPM owns. There's no need to copy documents from the existing DMS into a proprietary DMS to use Interstage BPM.

Since document management is orthogonal to Interstage BPM, it is unnecessary to locate documents in a repository that Interstage BPM owns. This independence between the server and the DMS eliminates the time-consuming requirement of copying documents into a proprietary DMS before workflow can be instituted. It is much more convenient to work with the DMS that already exists.

## Alternative Development Paths

There are also several feasible approaches that could enhance the access control of the file system.

You could write alternative naming and directory service adapters for a Sun Solaris computer. For example, you could write an adapter that authenticates a user that exists in LDAP. The user's access to the file system could perhaps be implemented through JNDI by making the DMS Adapter dependent on LDAP and configure the machine so that no one but LDAP members can use it through LDAP.

Another alternative might be to create an adapter through which all users check in and check out their documents.

Overview | Package | Class | Tree | Deprecated | Index | Help
PREV PACKAGE NEXT PACKAGE | FRAMES NO FRAMES