#1 Convert mainejug.org to a JSR-168 compliant portal
Since mainejug.org is a web portal on Java in Maine, it
would be logical to run it on portal software compliant
with the Java Portlet API (JSR-168). An overriding
problem with the current web site is that there are
four web contexts that run the static site and three
web applications. Because of cross-context issues all
four of these must contain duplicate header, footer and
navigation pages. There is also the issue of single
sign-on that could best be solved in a portal.
There are a number of things that need to be done to
make the portal conversion happen:
1. Select a JSR-168-compliant portal. Pluto, Jetspeed
2, Liferay and Exo and likely open-source candidates.
2. Set up an instance of the portal on our server or
another test server.
3. Create or modify an existing web-clipping or proxy
portlet to run our existing web applications in the
portal. Most portals come with this portlet. We
currently have three applications running on the web
site: 1) The Meeting Webapp that keeps track of
meetings and the calendar page, 2) The Future Topics
webapp that allows voting on Mainejug meeting topics,
and 3) Membership sign up.
4. Create a portlet to display our static pages in the
portal environment. Craig has a generic portlet he can
contribute to this effort.
5. Port our existing web applications to the portlet
API (JSR-168). Tapestry, which the Future Topics and
Membership webapps use as a MVC framework, is planning
to support JSR-168 in version 3.1. The Meeting Webapp
is a Struts webapp that should be ported to JSF to
achieve JSR-168 compliance.
6. Swap out the current web site for the portal based
one. This could be done before number 5 with web
applications deployed in the portal when their JSR-168
conversion is completed.
