Microsoft SharePoint is one of the most popular and preferred web application development platform today and most business enterprises make use of the same. Now, integration of SharePoint with the java web application can turn out to be real benefits. However, this integration requires one to take care of a number of aspects and consider certain essential factors. Only a planned and strategic approach towards integrating the two can lead to the ultimate success.
Let us begin by discussing the first few questions to which one needs to find answers. The version of the programming that is used is the first issue that plays an important role in the integration. The second point is regarding the version of the MOSS/WSS that is being employed and the third most important consideration here is the level of integration.
It can be assumed that for the purpose of the integration, Java 1.4 (J2EE 4) and the 2007/WSS 3.0 version of the SharePoint is used. With this, one can take the right approach to SharePoint and Java web applications integration. Here is an overview of the prominent requirements of the same.
Primary Requirements
To begin with, the IIS schemes for authentication support as well as the SharePoint/WSS remote access protocols support are essential. Alongside, the support for the best possible level of integration and integration based on LAN, where there is no such necessity of internet specific transport, is also required.
SharePoint Service Access Options
When it comes to the options of SharePoint/WSS service access, the MOSS/WSS products offer quite a good number of service based access options. This, however, is dependent on the version that happens to be in use. The options available are:
- XML-RPC interface on object API
- WS-* SOAP web service interface
It has to be kept in mind that the specific capabilities have to be chosen prior to deciding upon the versions.
Different Versions of Java Affecting the Integration
The integration is mostly dependent upon the version of Java used and here is a glance at the different integration options with the varying versions of Java.
Java 1.4 (J2EE 4)
The 1.4 version has limited support for the WS-* based services, found in the base distribution. Supporting for WS-* SOAP web services interfaces to MOSS/WSS necessitates extra web service framework. Now, out of the various java web service frameworks available, Axis2 is a highly recommended one, as it supports NTLM V1. With the Support for IIS authentication being a primary consideration, this particular version has XML-RPC in the base distribution.
Java 1.5 (J2EE 5)
The 1.5 version of the programming platform facilitates complete support for WS-* based services while XML-RPC interfaces are supported out of the box including that of NTLM V1 authentication.
Java 6
Java 6 is not always considered an option for integration though it provides full WS-* and XML-RPC support in the base distribution as well as facilitate NTLM V1 authentication.
Considering the Importance of Axis2
Axis2 comes with quite a few options for generating the proxy code of the client though the choice is largely determined by the particular SOAP data binding framework that one wants to use. Following are the available choices:
- AXIOM client uses the generic AXIOM classes for getting access to the web services. The same must work with raw XML.
- The Axis Data Binding is the default data binding frameworks which works well with the Axis2 web services but not with all the SOAP features.
- XML Beans is the functional schema compiler working with most of the WS compatible web services.
- JiBX, on the other hand, is flexible but involves a rather complicated setup process.
All the above- mentioned factors and issues are essential considerations in integrating SharePoint with Java Web Services. If you are thinking of SharePoint webparts development using Java web services, this can surely be helpful.
We provide SharePoint development services. If you would like to talk to one of our certified SharePoint programmers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.
No comments:
Post a Comment