Web Development

After you build an application, follow the instructions in this section to configure an application to run on the Web.

How to Configure a Panther Web Application

1. Create an application directory on the web application server.
2. Copy client.lib to the application directory. This library should contain the files that belong to your application, including: Panther screens and reports, image files, JPL modules, JavaScript files, and Java applet files.
3. For JetNet and Oracle Tuxedo applications, copy common.lib to the application directory.

   Note: The web setup manager can guide you through creating the requester and initialization files needed by your application.

4. Create the application's requester executable:

   • For CGI: In the CGI programs directory, copy proweb[.exe to application-name[.exe].

   • For ISAPI: In the ISAPI programs directory, copy proweb.isa to application-name[.isa].

   • For NSAPI: In the NSAPI programs directory, copy proweb.nsa to application-name[.nsa].

     Note: For NSAPI applications, NSAPI must be configured to run Panther web applications. For more information, refer to Appendix C, "Setting Up an NSAPI Web Server."

5. Alternatively, the Panther web application can run as a Java servlet. For more information, refer to Appendix D, "Using Java Servlets."
6. Create the application initialization file by copying the proweb.ini file. Name the copy application-name.ini. (For example, if the application name is vidorder, the initialization file would be called vidorder.ini.)

   The proweb.ini file is located in:

   • UNIX: the ini subdirectory under the proweb user home directory.

   • Windows: the Windows directory.

7. Edit the application's initialization file for the following settings. (For complete information on initialization file settings, refer to Chapter 12, "Web Initialization Options.")

   • Set the AppDirectory variable.

     This variable specifies the name of your application directory (the directory that contains all of your application files). Be sure the period character (.) does not appear in the application directory path name.

   • Set other variables that are specific to the application—for example, ServerLog, ClientLog, and ErrorFile.

   • Set NumServers to the number of concurrent users. The value must be updated from its default value, which is 0.

   • For better graphics performance, set ImageDir to the location of the graphics files in the docroot directory of the HTTP server.

   • Verify the location of the license file.

   • Set SMBASE to the Panther distribution on the Web application server.

   • Set SMFLIBS variable to the Panther libraries.

   • Set SMINITJPL to specify the JPL file to load on startup of the Web application in the variable. The JPL file should be in client.lib.

     Typically, this JPL file contains the web_startup and web_shutdown procedures which set global variables for the application, open and close your database connections in two-tier applications, and open and close middleware connections in JetNet and Oracle Tuxedo applications. By including the JPL module in SMINITJPL, it is automatically initialized with the Web application server.

   • For JetNet and Oracle Tuxedo applications, set the variables required to connect to the Panther application server: SMRBHOST, SMRBPORT, and/or SMRBCONFIG and to access the JIF file SMTPJIF.

   • For JetNet applications, specify the location of shared libraries through LD_LIBRARY_PATH, LIBPATH, or SHLIB_PATH.

   • For two-tier applications, set database environment information in the initialization file's [Environment] section. Under Windows, you also need to set the [Database] section. from proweb.ini.

8. For UNIX web applications, after the application is configured, start the application by using the monitor command. At the command line, type:

   monitor -start application-name[.exe]

9. For Windows web applications, after the application is configured, install the application as a service using the monitor command. Refer to the monitor command for more information.