Ofbiz : a Commons Platform

[Grant Edwards]

Hi,

Ofbiz : a Commons Platform

My client has a number of different applications each storing and
maintaining data similar to facilities, parties, contact information,
addressing, geodata, content, location based information etc ...

There is a real need to consolidate not only the data but also the
mechanisms to manage it.

Taking the above into consideration I am contemplating the following :

1) Using OFBiz as a commons platform.
2) Exposing all existing OFBiz services relating to facilities, parties,
contact information, address, geodata, content ... to external clients via
web services.
3) Publish a WSDL for all necessary services.
4) Client applications can read the WSDL file to determine what operations
are available on the server.

To-date, I have not found anything comprehensive in terms of documentation
or user experience as to how this might be achieved. Of all the OFBiz + "web
services" posts I found this one (
https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/OFBIZ-3877) seemed the closest to the
mark, but I get the impression that some of this is still work in progress.
(If I am off the mark here, please feel free to correct me).

Your thoughts and comments regarding "OFBiz : a Common Platform" would be
most appreciated.

Kind regards

Grant

[Jacques Le Roux]

Joonas Keturi, who is the man behind this, has contacted us (Scott and me) at the beginning of January to ask if we would be
interested by an updated patch. I answered positively but got no answers so far

I must say that I have not used the new way (OFBIZ-3877) yet and don't know its status. Joonas uses it in a custom application...

Jacques

From: "Grant Edwards" <[hidden email]>

> Hi,
>
> Ofbiz : a Commons Platform
>
> My client has a number of different applications each storing and
> maintaining data similar to facilities, parties, contact information,
> addressing, geodata, content, location based information etc ...
>
> There is a real need to consolidate not only the data but also the
> mechanisms to manage it.
>
> Taking the above into consideration I am contemplating the following :
>
> 1) Using OFBiz as a commons platform.
> 2) Exposing all existing OFBiz services relating to facilities, parties,
> contact information, address, geodata, content ... to external clients via
> web services.
> 3) Publish a WSDL for all necessary services.
> 4) Client applications can read the WSDL file to determine what operations
> are available on the server.
>
> To-date, I have not found anything comprehensive in terms of documentation
> or user experience as to how this might be achieved. Of all the OFBiz + "web
> services" posts I found this one (
> https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/OFBIZ-3877) seemed the closest to the
> mark, but I get the impression that some of this is still work in progress.
> (If I am off the mark here, please feel free to correct me).
>
> Your thoughts and comments regarding "OFBiz : a Common Platform" would be
> most appreciated.
>
> Kind regards
>
> Grant
>

[Bilgin Ibryam-2]

On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 10:46 AM, Grant Edwards <[hidden email]>wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Ofbiz : a Commons Platform
>
> My client has a number of different applications each storing and
> maintaining data similar to facilities, parties, contact information,
> addressing, geodata, content, location based information etc ...
>
> There is a real need to consolidate not only the data but also the
> mechanisms to manage it.
>
> Taking the above into consideration I am contemplating the following :
>
> 1) Using OFBiz as a commons platform.
> 2) Exposing all existing OFBiz services relating to facilities, parties,
> contact information, address, geodata, content ... to external clients via
> web services.
>

When I tried web services in ofbiz last time (before a year or so) it was
really hard to use them mainly due to the wsdl format generated, but this it
has changed at least once from that time if I remember correct.
From the other hand, xml-rpc interface is much simple and just works for mos
of the cases.

Bilgin Ibryam

> 3) Publish a WSDL for all necessary services.
> 4) Client applications can read the WSDL file to determine what operations
> are available on the server.
>
> To-date, I have not found anything comprehensive in terms of documentation
> or user experience as to how this might be achieved. Of all the OFBiz +
> "web
> services" posts I found this one (
> https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/OFBIZ-3877) seemed the closest to
> the
> mark, but I get the impression that some of this is still work in progress.
> (If I am off the mark here, please feel free to correct me).
>
> Your thoughts and comments regarding "OFBiz : a Common Platform" would be
> most appreciated.
>
> Kind regards
>
> Grant
>

[BJ Freeman]

if your only reason to use ofbiz is the data structure, I suggest you
get the 3 volumes of the Data module books, ofbiz is based on and use
the CD data included to create a standard data sql to build your
database. you will find better ROI.

The framework is meant more for those that use entities and the ease of
maintainence for dealing with the persistence layer and the UI layer.





========================

BJ Freeman
Strategic Power Office with Supplier Automation  <http://www.businessesnetwork.com/automation/viewforum.php?f=52>
Specialtymarket.com  <http://www.specialtymarket.com/>
Systems Integrator-- Glad to Assist

Chat  Y! messenger: bjfr33man


Grant Edwards sent the following on 1/17/2011 2:46 AM:

> Hi,
>
> Ofbiz : a Commons Platform
>
> My client has a number of different applications each storing and
> maintaining data similar to facilities, parties, contact information,
> addressing, geodata, content, location based information etc ...
>
> There is a real need to consolidate not only the data but also the
> mechanisms to manage it.
>
> Taking the above into consideration I am contemplating the following :
>
> 1) Using OFBiz as a commons platform.
> 2) Exposing all existing OFBiz services relating to facilities, parties,
> contact information, address, geodata, content ... to external clients via
> web services.
> 3) Publish a WSDL for all necessary services.
> 4) Client applications can read the WSDL file to determine what operations
> are available on the server.
>
> To-date, I have not found anything comprehensive in terms of documentation
> or user experience as to how this might be achieved. Of all the OFBiz + "web
> services" posts I found this one (
> https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/OFBIZ-3877) seemed the closest to the
> mark, but I get the impression that some of this is still work in progress.
> (If I am off the mark here, please feel free to correct me).
>
> Your thoughts and comments regarding "OFBiz : a Common Platform" would be
> most appreciated.
>
> Kind regards
>
> Grant
>

[Grant Edwards]

Hi,

Agreed, if that was my requirement.

However my requirement is rather different. A core part of my "Commons"
application would be facilities, parties (party groups), contact
information, address (with GIS information), geodata and some content
management. I am keen not only on the data structures, but also all the out
the box services for managing these data structures / entities. The OFBiz
admin console would also make the idea tool for the central management of
this type of data.

Given the afore mentioned, and time to market, OFBiz seems like a fairly
good option. What I was a little unsure about was how one might expose
existing OFBiz services to external clients.

WDSL or XML-RPC ?

Any thoughts ?

Kind regards

Grant

On Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 7:03 PM, BJ Freeman <[hidden email]> wrote:

> if your only reason to use ofbiz is the data structure, I suggest you get
> the 3 volumes of the Data module books, ofbiz is based on and use the CD
> data included to create a standard data sql to build your database. you will
> find better ROI.
>
> The framework is meant more for those that use entities and the ease of
> maintainence for dealing with the persistence layer and the UI layer.
>
>
>
>
>
> ========================
>
> BJ Freeman
> Strategic Power Office with Supplier Automation  <
> http://www.businessesnetwork.com/automation/viewforum.php?f=52>
> Specialtymarket.com  <http://www.specialtymarket.com/>
> Systems Integrator-- Glad to Assist
>
> Chat  Y! messenger: bjfr33man
>
>
> Grant Edwards sent the following on 1/17/2011 2:46 AM:
>
>  Hi,
>>
>> Ofbiz : a Commons Platform
>>
>> My client has a number of different applications each storing and
>> maintaining data similar to facilities, parties, contact information,
>> addressing, geodata, content, location based information etc ...
>>
>> There is a real need to consolidate not only the data but also the
>> mechanisms to manage it.
>>
>> Taking the above into consideration I am contemplating the following :
>>
>> 1) Using OFBiz as a commons platform.
>> 2) Exposing all existing OFBiz services relating to facilities, parties,
>> contact information, address, geodata, content ... to external clients via
>> web services.
>> 3) Publish a WSDL for all necessary services.
>> 4) Client applications can read the WSDL file to determine what operations
>> are available on the server.
>>
>> To-date, I have not found anything comprehensive in terms of documentation
>> or user experience as to how this might be achieved. Of all the OFBiz +
>> "web
>> services" posts I found this one (
>> https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/OFBIZ-3877) seemed the closest to
>> the
>> mark, but I get the impression that some of this is still work in
>> progress.
>> (If I am off the mark here, please feel free to correct me).
>>
>> Your thoughts and comments regarding "OFBiz : a Common Platform" would be
>> most appreciated.
>>
>> Kind regards
>>
>> Grant
>>
>>
>

[Jacques Le Roux]

From experience, much people are inclined to XML-RPC, less troubles

Jacques

From: "Grant Edwards" <[hidden email]>

> Hi,
>
> Agreed, if that was my requirement.
>
> However my requirement is rather different. A core part of my "Commons"
> application would be facilities, parties (party groups), contact
> information, address (with GIS information), geodata and some content
> management. I am keen not only on the data structures, but also all the out
> the box services for managing these data structures / entities. The OFBiz
> admin console would also make the idea tool for the central management of
> this type of data.
>
> Given the afore mentioned, and time to market, OFBiz seems like a fairly
> good option. What I was a little unsure about was how one might expose
> existing OFBiz services to external clients.
>
> WDSL or XML-RPC ?
>
> Any thoughts ?
>
> Kind regards
>
> Grant
>
> On Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 7:03 PM, BJ Freeman <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> if your only reason to use ofbiz is the data structure, I suggest you get
>> the 3 volumes of the Data module books, ofbiz is based on and use the CD
>> data included to create a standard data sql to build your database. you will
>> find better ROI.
>>
>> The framework is meant more for those that use entities and the ease of
>> maintainence for dealing with the persistence layer and the UI layer.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ========================
>>
>> BJ Freeman
>> Strategic Power Office with Supplier Automation  <
>> http://www.businessesnetwork.com/automation/viewforum.php?f=52>
>> Specialtymarket.com  <http://www.specialtymarket.com/>
>> Systems Integrator-- Glad to Assist
>>
>> Chat  Y! messenger: bjfr33man
>>
>>
>> Grant Edwards sent the following on 1/17/2011 2:46 AM:
>>
>>  Hi,
>>>
>>> Ofbiz : a Commons Platform
>>>
>>> My client has a number of different applications each storing and
>>> maintaining data similar to facilities, parties, contact information,
>>> addressing, geodata, content, location based information etc ...
>>>
>>> There is a real need to consolidate not only the data but also the
>>> mechanisms to manage it.
>>>
>>> Taking the above into consideration I am contemplating the following :
>>>
>>> 1) Using OFBiz as a commons platform.
>>> 2) Exposing all existing OFBiz services relating to facilities, parties,
>>> contact information, address, geodata, content ... to external clients via
>>> web services.
>>> 3) Publish a WSDL for all necessary services.
>>> 4) Client applications can read the WSDL file to determine what operations
>>> are available on the server.
>>>
>>> To-date, I have not found anything comprehensive in terms of documentation
>>> or user experience as to how this might be achieved. Of all the OFBiz +
>>> "web
>>> services" posts I found this one (
>>> https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/OFBIZ-3877) seemed the closest to
>>> the
>>> mark, but I get the impression that some of this is still work in
>>> progress.
>>> (If I am off the mark here, please feel free to correct me).
>>>
>>> Your thoughts and comments regarding "OFBiz : a Common Platform" would be
>>> most appreciated.
>>>
>>> Kind regards
>>>
>>> Grant
>>>
>>>
>>
>

[Grant Edwards]

Thanks Jacques, I am starting to think along those lines as well.

On Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 3:01 PM, Jacques Le Roux <
[hidden email]> wrote:

> From experience, much people are inclined to XML-RPC, less troubles
>
> Jacques
>
>
> From: "Grant Edwards" <[hidden email]>
>
>> Hi,
>>
>>
>> Agreed, if that was my requirement.
>>
>> However my requirement is rather different. A core part of my "Commons"
>> application would be facilities, parties (party groups), contact
>> information, address (with GIS information), geodata and some content
>> management. I am keen not only on the data structures, but also all the
>> out
>> the box services for managing these data structures / entities. The OFBiz
>> admin console would also make the idea tool for the central management of
>> this type of data.
>>
>> Given the afore mentioned, and time to market, OFBiz seems like a fairly
>> good option. What I was a little unsure about was how one might expose
>> existing OFBiz services to external clients.
>>
>> WDSL or XML-RPC ?
>>
>> Any thoughts ?
>>
>> Kind regards
>>
>> Grant
>>
>> On Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 7:03 PM, BJ Freeman <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>
>>  if your only reason to use ofbiz is the data structure, I suggest you get
>>> the 3 volumes of the Data module books, ofbiz is based on and use the CD
>>> data included to create a standard data sql to build your database. you
>>> will
>>> find better ROI.
>>>
>>> The framework is meant more for those that use entities and the ease of
>>> maintainence for dealing with the persistence layer and the UI layer.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ========================
>>>
>>> BJ Freeman
>>> Strategic Power Office with Supplier Automation  <
>>> http://www.businessesnetwork.com/automation/viewforum.php?f=52>
>>> Specialtymarket.com  <http://www.specialtymarket.com/>
>>> Systems Integrator-- Glad to Assist
>>>
>>> Chat  Y! messenger: bjfr33man
>>>
>>>
>>> Grant Edwards sent the following on 1/17/2011 2:46 AM:
>>>
>>>  Hi,
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Ofbiz : a Commons Platform
>>>>
>>>> My client has a number of different applications each storing and
>>>> maintaining data similar to facilities, parties, contact information,
>>>> addressing, geodata, content, location based information etc ...
>>>>
>>>> There is a real need to consolidate not only the data but also the
>>>> mechanisms to manage it.
>>>>
>>>> Taking the above into consideration I am contemplating the following :
>>>>
>>>> 1) Using OFBiz as a commons platform.
>>>> 2) Exposing all existing OFBiz services relating to facilities, parties,
>>>> contact information, address, geodata, content ... to external clients
>>>> via
>>>> web services.
>>>> 3) Publish a WSDL for all necessary services.
>>>> 4) Client applications can read the WSDL file to determine what
>>>> operations
>>>> are available on the server.
>>>>
>>>> To-date, I have not found anything comprehensive in terms of
>>>> documentation
>>>> or user experience as to how this might be achieved. Of all the OFBiz +
>>>> "web
>>>> services" posts I found this one (
>>>> https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/OFBIZ-3877) seemed the closest to
>>>> the
>>>> mark, but I get the impression that some of this is still work in
>>>> progress.
>>>> (If I am off the mark here, please feel free to correct me).
>>>>
>>>> Your thoughts and comments regarding "OFBiz : a Common Platform" would
>>>> be
>>>> most appreciated.
>>>>
>>>> Kind regards
>>>>
>>>> Grant
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>

[BJ Freeman]

most all of the systems for payment and shipping that ofbiz uses are XML.
some are POST (protocol) others are RPC.
another more complex is a view Handler outputs the UI as xml. this lets
the other end convert to the system used by the user.
This also lets all the features, such as roles and security be used.


=======================

BJ Freeman
Strategic Power Office with Supplier Automation  <http://www.businessesnetwork.com/automation/viewforum.php?f=52>
Specialtymarket.com  <http://www.specialtymarket.com/>
Systems Integrator-- Glad to Assist

Chat  Y! messenger: bjfr33man
Jacques Le Roux sent the following on 1/24/2011 5:01 AM:

>> From experience, much people are inclined to XML-RPC, less troubles
>
> Jacques
>
> From: "Grant Edwards" <[hidden email]>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Agreed, if that was my requirement.
>>
>> However my requirement is rather different. A core part of my "Commons"
>> application would be facilities, parties (party groups), contact
>> information, address (with GIS information), geodata and some content
>> management. I am keen not only on the data structures, but also all
>> the out
>> the box services for managing these data structures / entities. The OFBiz
>> admin console would also make the idea tool for the central management of
>> this type of data.
>>
>> Given the afore mentioned, and time to market, OFBiz seems like a fairly
>> good option. What I was a little unsure about was how one might expose
>> existing OFBiz services to external clients.
>>
>> WDSL or XML-RPC ?
>>
>> Any thoughts ?
>>
>> Kind regards
>>
>> Grant
>>
>> On Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 7:03 PM, BJ Freeman <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>
>>> if your only reason to use ofbiz is the data structure, I suggest you
>>> get
>>> the 3 volumes of the Data module books, ofbiz is based on and use the CD
>>> data included to create a standard data sql to build your database.
>>> you will
>>> find better ROI.
>>>
>>> The framework is meant more for those that use entities and the ease of
>>> maintainence for dealing with the persistence layer and the UI layer.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ========================
>>>
>>> BJ Freeman
>>> Strategic Power Office with Supplier Automation <
>>> http://www.businessesnetwork.com/automation/viewforum.php?f=52>
>>> Specialtymarket.com <http://www.specialtymarket.com/>
>>> Systems Integrator-- Glad to Assist
>>>
>>> Chat Y! messenger: bjfr33man
>>>
>>>
>>> Grant Edwards sent the following on 1/17/2011 2:46 AM:
>>>
>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> Ofbiz : a Commons Platform
>>>>
>>>> My client has a number of different applications each storing and
>>>> maintaining data similar to facilities, parties, contact information,
>>>> addressing, geodata, content, location based information etc ...
>>>>
>>>> There is a real need to consolidate not only the data but also the
>>>> mechanisms to manage it.
>>>>
>>>> Taking the above into consideration I am contemplating the following :
>>>>
>>>> 1) Using OFBiz as a commons platform.
>>>> 2) Exposing all existing OFBiz services relating to facilities,
>>>> parties,
>>>> contact information, address, geodata, content ... to external
>>>> clients via
>>>> web services.
>>>> 3) Publish a WSDL for all necessary services.
>>>> 4) Client applications can read the WSDL file to determine what
>>>> operations
>>>> are available on the server.
>>>>
>>>> To-date, I have not found anything comprehensive in terms of
>>>> documentation
>>>> or user experience as to how this might be achieved. Of all the OFBiz +
>>>> "web
>>>> services" posts I found this one (
>>>> https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/OFBIZ-3877) seemed the closest to
>>>> the
>>>> mark, but I get the impression that some of this is still work in
>>>> progress.
>>>> (If I am off the mark here, please feel free to correct me).
>>>>
>>>> Your thoughts and comments regarding "OFBiz : a Common Platform"
>>>> would be
>>>> most appreciated.
>>>>
>>>> Kind regards
>>>>
>>>> Grant
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>
>