Luc Bors, june 2013, ODTUG KScope 2013 New Orleans

Tips and Tricks for UI Reuse in Oracle ADF

Don't Reinvent the Wheel

Who Am I

• Luc Bors

• Principal Consultant

• AMIS Nieuwegein Netherlands

• Friends of Oracle & Java

• 5 Oracle ACE(D)

• Oracle Partner

Topics

• Reuse – ADF Controller and Faces

– Page Templates

– Declarative Components

– Stylesheets

– Task Flows

The (somewhat ugly)Sample Application

Page Templates

• Specify the layout structure (of groups) of pages

– For example: top bar, side bar, footer

– Predefine placeholders for pages to inject their contents

• Page can be based on template

– It will provide the content for the placeholders (seen as facets)

– It can pass parameters to the template – for example for the title of the page or the

page bread crumb trail

Page Templates

• Centrally specifying the overall structure and some of the look & feel for all or specific types of pages

• Can also be applied dynamically, depending on some context settings

– This allows a single page to be presented in different ways to different users or under

different conditions

– Templates allow different structure and component ordering for the same page

• Page Templates make maintenance of the overall layout structure much easier

Page Templates

• Create a Page Template

– Embed one or more facetRef elements for the holes to be filled by the pages based on the template

– Publish the template “API” – the input parameters it supports

• Create pages based on the template

– In these pages, provide content for the facets exposed by the template

– Provide values for input parameters supported by template

• At any point in time:

– change the template (reusing same facetRefs and parameters)

– change the facet contents in any page

– change template ref in a page (to template with same facets)• Can be done dynamically

Defining the template

Building the Layout

Using the Attributes

The Template Definition

The Template UI components

Demo

Custom Components

• Compose reusable ‘packages’ for frequently occurring combinations of ADF Faces/JSF components

– Declarative reuse for consistency and productivity

– Better encapsulation than page fragments

– Internally a declarative component is built out of a combination of JSF components

• Declarative components can be used like normal JSF components

– They expose a number of attributes (that are wired to attributes of the internal JSF

components)

– They may have facets (to embed other JSF components)

• Examples: LOV/DropDown Switcher, InputTime, Selection components for static domains, Button bars

Custom Components

• Choose JSF Declarative Component in the New Gallery

• Specify the properties for the component

– Name, Package, TaglibName

– The attributes exposed to consumers of the components• And default values for the attributes

– Methods – name and signature – to use for method bindings

– Names of the facets that are published (and that will be used to embed JSF content

inside the declarative component)

• Create the content of the Component by assembling JSF components –much like you do for a Page Template

– Using facetRef components, #{attrs.<attrName>} and #{component.<methodName>}

Create Custom Component

Defining the Component

Building the UI

Demo

Stylesheets

Demo

Overview

• Reusable components – Bounded Task Flows

– Multi page, isolated memory scope

– Controller and flow logic, executing business logic

– Interface with input parameters and output events

– Dynamically switching between regions

– Role based authorization

– Transaction management

– Savepoints and Rollback support

• Unbounded Task Flow

– Bookmarking, …

Examples

Create a Bounded Task Flow

Taskflows

Building a Reusable Task Flow Catalog

• Organizations may create a catalog of task flows

• Reusable services, encapsulated with clear interfaces

– Input parameters

– Result

– Events published

• Such task flows can also be published by

– Third parties

– ‘the community’

Demo

Reusing Reusables: ADF Libraries

• Sharing reusable assets

– Task Flows, Stylsheets, PageTemplates and Custom Components

– can be deployed and distributed through ADF Libraries (JAR files, design time)

– ADF Libraries are added to consuming applications

– When added, components from library can be reused in consuming application

ADF Libraries

• ADF Library enables you to reuse components:

– Package them into ADF Library JAR files

– Add them to a reusable component repository

– Add the library to a project to use its components

How does it work

• Deploy the project that contains the component(s) to an ADF Library JAR

– JDeveloper automatically adds the required Tag library for the declarative

component(s)

• Add the Library in consuming projects

– Via the Resource Palette

• Declarative components will show up on the Component Palette

– They are used like normal components with attributes, method bindings and facets

Deployment Profile

Library Deployment

Using an ADF Library

Libraries are added

What do we have so far ?

• ADF Page Template

• ADF Custom Component

• ADF Style sheet

• ADF Taskflow

Using the Template

Setting attribute values

Using the Stylesheet

Using the Custom Component

Using the Taskflow

Setting up the region

Refreshing the region

Demo

Lets make some Changes

• All Reusable components can be changed

• Will have immediate effect in the application

– After redeployment of the library

Other Topic : Reuse in ADF BC

• Declarative Model Driven functionality

– Most Recently Used, UI Hints

– List of Values, Model Driven Query Form

• Entity Object Business Logic Group

• View Criteria

– Multiple faces on the same ViewObject

• Shared Application Module

– Reuse data across sessions

Summary

• ADF Provides mechanisms for reuse

• Initial investment

• Payback time is later

• Considerations:

– Is it reusable ?

– Will I reuse it ?

• But also

– Modularity

– Maintainability

– Increased Productivity

Luc Bors, AMIS, The Netherlands

Luc.Bors@amis.nl

LucBors@gmail.com

Follow me on : @lucb_