Setting Up a WebFOCUS Environment in Developer Studio

Working With Environment Properties

How to:

Add a WebFOCUS Environment

When you set up access to WebFOCUS environments, your settings are retained when you restart or reinstall Developer Studio. WebFOCUS environment settings are normally stored in:

drive:\Documents and Settings\user_id\Application Data\
Information Builders\wfscom.xml

where:

user_id: Is your logged on Windows ID.

Note:

This file and directory may not be visible by default. To see this directory, open Windows Explorer, click Tools, choose Folder Options, and select the View tab. Then, select Show hidden files and folders and click OK.
In Developer Studio Version 5 Release 3 and earlier, this file was named wfscom.wfs. When you launch Developer Studio Version 7 Release 1 and higher, an existing wfscom.wfs file is renamed to wfscom.xml.
If an existing wfscom.xml or wfscom.wfs file has a localhost environment, the existing localhost environment is updated with settings based on the selected installation and configuration options. If localhost did not exist, it is created with settings based on the selected installation and configuration options.
User IDs and passwords stored in wfscom.xml are encrypted to keep them confidential.
WebFOCUS environment properties apply to your current Developer Studio configuration and do not impact other users or the WebFOCUS configuration.

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Procedure: How to Add a WebFOCUS Environment

To add a WebFOCUS Environment, perform the following steps:

Select the File menu and choose Show Environments.
The Environments List dialog box opens as shown in the following image.

This dialog lists all of the WebFOCUS Environments already defined for Developer Studio, if previously installed. If not installed, only the localhost environment exists. To edit an existing environment, select it and click Properties.

Note: The Set Development Environment button does not pertain to Managed Reporting and is only used for a self-service deployment application.
Click the Add button.
The WebFOCUS Environment Properties dialog box opens, as shown in the following image.

At the top part of the dialog box is the Description text box followed by the Environment Settings section where you will find up to six selectable objects. At the bottom part of the dialog box are two sections, Web Component and Web Component Authentication. In the Web Component section, you can enter the IP Address (Host Name), select the Protocol type, enter the Port number information, and optionally supply an HTML Alias. In the Web Component Authentication section, you can enter User ID and Password information when the User ID drop-down list is set to a value other than None.

Use the WebFOCUS Environment Properties dialog box to define which components make up the environment. You can optionally enter authentication information for components that require logon credentials.
At the top of the window, type a Description for the WebFOCUS environment. This description will appear in the Developer Studio Explorer under WebFOCUS Environments.
As shown in the following image, the Environment Settings section contains a series of buttons, arranged in a diagram. Each one depicts a component in the WebFOCUS environment.

The Web Component button is selected by default. Note that the Project Development Environment Settings are only available in the full edition of Developer Studio.
At the bottom of the Web Environment Properties page, specify the information needed to access the Web server.
For some environments, after you specify the Web server, all other options are set by default. If the WebFOCUS environment you are accessing does not use default settings or the components require authentication, click the appropriate button in the top pane to provide parameters. The sections that follow explain the parameters available for each component.

Note:
- WebFOCUS environment properties must be supplied in a particular order. For example, if Web server security is enabled, you cannot set the WebFOCUS Client script name until you have provided valid Web server credentials. Similarly, you cannot retrieve a list of WebFOCUS Reporting Servers until you have provided a valid WebFOCUS Client Path. As you select a component button in the dialog box, Developer Studio ensures that it has the necessary information before it displays the component properties in the lower part of the dialog box. If the required information is not available, you will not be able to proceed to the next component.
- You can also add a WebFOCUS Environment by right-clicking WebFOCUS Environments on the Developer Studio Explorer and selecting Add.

Local Machine Properties

Local Machine properties are optional. You can select the Local Machine button to indicate whether to cache files when accessing the WebFOCUS environment.

The following image shows the WebFOCUS Environment Caching section of the WebFOCUS Environment Properties dialog box.

WebFOCUS Environment Caching

In caching, copies of files or information stored on a remote machine are temporarily stored on your local Developer Studio machine. Developer Studio works with the locally stored files. Caching increases Developer Studio performance because remote machines are not accessed and queried every time you request information, which is especially useful when accessing mainframes or when a network connection is slow. Note that caching should not be used when multiple developers are working with the same files because the possibility exists that one writer may overwrite the changes of another writer. By default, caching is not enabled.

Two properties are available:

Cache remote directory and file information. This option caches information about files stored on the WebFOCUS environment. This does not actually cache files, only information about them. If selected, Developer Studio does not query the WebFOCUS Reporting Server every time it needs a list of files stored on the server.
Enable file content caching. This option caches files normally stored on the server. Developer Studio only retrieves files once and then when you wish to read or edit them, it uses a cached copy. Be aware that when you edit a cached file, the edited cached file is returned to the server and replaces the actual file on the server.

Developer Studio retrieves information and files the first time you request them and then caches them locally. Developer Studio then uses the cached copies until Developer Studio is restarted or when you click the Clear buttons for each level. You can perform a manual refresh and clear all cache files by clicking View, then Refresh, or by pressing F5. Refresh is performed for the area that is selected in the Explorer when you perform this action.

Note:

If you create a new synonym, you must manually perform a refresh to view the new files in the Developer Studio Explorer when caching is enabled.
You cannot use the caching options for the local development environment if the Source Control feature is enabled.

Web Component Properties

The Web Component button is selected by default. Web Component properties specify how Developer Studio accesses the Web server. The Web server must be identified before any other components. The following image shows the Web Component section of the WebFOCUS Environment Properties dialog box.

Web Component section

The following properties are available:

Host Name/IP Address. This specifies the hostname or IP address where your Web server is running. This field is required and has no default value. For a network installation, ensure this is the actual host name and not localhost.
Protocol. This is the protocol to use for accessing the Web server (HTTP, HTTPS, FTP).
Port. This is the TCP/IP port for accessing the Web server. Port 80 is the default for HTTP with most servers. However with Tomcat, this is port 8080.
HTML Alias. This is the alias defined on the Web server for the environment ibi_html directory. If your WebFOCUS environment does not use the default ibi_html alias, specify the custom alias defined on the remote Web server. Developer Studio must know this alias to retrieve key information from WebFOCUS Client files such as cgipath.js and ibiapplets.txt.
Use Default. This specifies that the default ibi_html alias is used. Leave this check box selected unless you change the HTML Alias value.
Web Component Authentication. This specifies whether authentication is required on the Web server. To set security, select Basic in the drop-down list and type a Web server User ID and Password. If this is set to None, the Web server must allow anonymous access. Additional custom security methods can be added, such as SiteMinder. For more information, see the WebFOCUS Security and Administration manual.

WebFOCUS Client Properties

When you click the WebFOCUS Client button, Developer Studio makes a connection to your Web server to retrieve information about the WebFOCUS environment. Therefore, you must first specify Web Component properties and your Web server must be running. The following image shows the WebFOCUS Client section of the WebFOCUS Environment Properties dialog box.

WebFOCUS Client section

Note: If the Client Path field is empty and the Use Default check box is selected, there is a problem connecting to the WebFOCUS Client. Ensure your Web server is started and that you typed the correct properties on the Web Components page. If you cannot connect, contact your WebFOCUS Administrator.

The following properties are available:

Client Path. This specifies how calls are made from Developer Studio to the Web server. By default, when you add a new WebFOCUS environment, it is set to use the WebFOCUS Servlet with the default ibi_apps context path:
```
/ibi_apps/WFServlet
```
If the WebFOCUS environment does not use servlet or uses a non-default context path, deselect the Use Default check box and provide the correct Client Path. Common default settings appear in the Client Path drop-down list, as follows:
```
/ibi_apps/WFServlet (Servlet) 
```
Servlet is required for Managed Reporting or Tomcat. If the Client Path is incorrect for the environment, you receive an error when you click the Data Servers button at the top of the page. If you do not know your path, ask your WebFOCUS Administrator or check the WebFOCUS Administration Console of the environment to which you want to connect. The Client Path settings for the environment are located under Utilities and Client Selection.
Select Language. This specifies the language of the WebFOCUS Client.
Supply Credentials. If required, you can select this check box and type a WebFOCUS Client User ID and Password. These credentials are used only for Project-based development (does not apply to Managed Reporting) and ensure that a developer is authorized to perform certain activities such as deploying an application and writing to Web server directories.
WebFOCUS Client user IDs are the same IDs used to access the WebFOCUS Administrative Console in Developer mode. If authentication is enabled for the Console and these fields are empty, you are prompted to log on to the WebFOCUS Client when you access the environment. You can contact your WebFOCUS Administrator to see if you must supply WebFOCUS Client credentials.

When the correct WebFOCUS Client Path is provided, you can specify properties for the remaining component.

Managed Reporting/ReportCaster Properties

If you plan to work with Managed Reporting or ReportCaster (or both), you can optionally select the Managed Reporting/ReportCaster button. This allows you to set logon credentials or change the default Managed Reporting repository.

This feature is not applicable to the Power Reporter edition of Developer Studio.

The following image shows the Managed Reporting Repository section of the WebFOCUS Environment Properties dialog box.

Managed Reporting Repository section

The following properties are available:

Path. This lets you specify a non-default Managed Reporting repository. For a default Managed Reporting repository, the Path field is empty and the Use Default check box is selected. Your WebFOCUS Administrator may instruct you to deselect the Use Default check box and enter a path, for example:
```
e:/user_test/basedir01/usr/user_test/basedir01
```
A value is not displayed in this field when the Use Default check box is selected because WebFOCUS cannot detect the list of potential repositories on the Web server.
Note: ReportCaster only supports the Managed Reporting Repository, as defined in the WebFOCUS Client Configuration file MR_BASE_DIR.
Supply Credentials. If required, you can select this check box and type Managed Reporting or ReportCaster logon credentials. Developer Studio automatically uses these credentials each time it accesses Managed Reporting or ReportCaster. If the Supply Credentials check box is not selected, Developer Studio prompts you for logon credentials when it requires access to Managed Reporting or ReportCaster.
Note: If your WebFOCUS Administrator has integrated Managed Reporting authentication with Web server authentication, do not supply Managed Reporting credentials here. These credentials will be picked up from the Web server component properties.

Data Server Properties

You can set authentication and view available WebFOCUS Reporting Servers by clicking the Data Servers button. When you select Data Servers, Developer Studio connects to the WebFOCUS Client and retrieves a list of servers from the communication configuration file (odin.cfg).

The following image shows the Data Servers section of the WebFOCUS Environment Properties dialog box.

Data Servers section

The following property is available:

Supply Credentials. If selected, you can type a User ID and password for the WebFOCUS server highlighted in the list. Clicking Set stores the credentials with the environment properties, and the User ID you supplied is shown next to the server in the list. The credentials are checked the next time you use a feature on that server, not when you click the Set button.

Project Development Properties

Project development is not a feature supported by Managed Reporting. For more information about this feature, see Project Development Properties in the Setting Up a WebFOCUS Environment section in the Developer Studio Application Development Getting Started manual.