In order to help you install the appropriate software components, this chapter describes the contents of the Panther installation package, application architectures, and the functionality of the Prolifics software components that make up your Panther distribution.
Before you begin the installation process, review the Release Notes for the latest information about Panther, including known problems.
The Panther installation package consists of the items listed below. Some of these items may not be required or appropriate for your particular installation, and therefore are not included in your package. For a complete list of files included in the installation, refer to packlist.txt in the notes subdirectory of the installation. The installation package consists of:
The following list provides a description of two-tier, three-tier, and web applications. Choose the appropriate architecture for your application based on your requirements and your Panther software.
Two-tier application
The two-tier client/server model typically separates data from the logic of an application.
Three-tier application
In the three-tier or enhanced client/server model, the logic of an application is distributed across servers. The backend server is known as the resource manager, and is usually a database. The layer between client and backend server is the application server. The client is responsible for user interactions, and the application server is responsible for providing business-level services and interacting with the resource manager as needed.
Web application
A web application can be a two- or three-tier application deployed on the web application server and viewed from a web browser. The web application broker works with your HTTP server software.
Panther software may include the client, application server engine, and, a web application broker. The following chart describes each component, its supported platforms, and whether that component is required. Based on your chosen architecture, install the appropriate Panther software.
Panther Software Component
Description
Supported Platforms
Required/Optional
Client
Provides the development and runtime client environment for building applications and components.
Windows 98 Windows NT 4 Windows 2000
Required
Application Server Engine
Provides access to shared application libraries and server-side components required for three-tier applications.
Windows NT 4 Windows 2000
Web Application Broker
Provides the runtime environment for accessing applications through web browsers.
Optional
Database Drivers
Provides the interface between Panther and the supported databases: Informix Ingres MS SQL Server ODBC Oracle Sybase
The following figure shows Panther three-tier software components installed on different machines in a networked environment.
The following figure shows Panther three-tier software installed on a single machine.
After Panther is installed and configured, you can refer to the online documentation for information on specific topics. Refer to Appendix -A- for information on accessing the documentation.
Refer to This Guide
For Information About
Getting Started
Building an application, including setting up the client environment as well as a web application broker.
WebSphere Developer's Studio
Building and deploying EJBs (Panther for IBM WebSphere).
COM/MTS Guide
Building and deploying COM components.
New Features
New features in Panther.
Upgrade Guide
Upgrading from JAM to Panther.
Configuration
Panther variables used for configuring Panther on various platforms and to your preferences. It also provides information on GUI resource and initialization files.
Developer's Guide
Building Panther applications.
Using the Editors
The Panther graphical authoring environment.
Web Developer's Guide
Building and deploying a Panther web application.
Reports
Using Panther's report generation utility to build, modify and run reports.
Programming Guide
JPL commands, Panther's programming language, and using Java and C library functions in Panther.
JDB
Guide to JDB, Prolifics's prototyping database, and JISQL, the interactive SQL editor for JDB.
readme.* in the notes subdirectory
Database-specific release notes detailing the setup of your Panther application as a database client.
fixlist.txt in the notes subdirectory
Bugs fixed in Panther.