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My First Building Block

My First Building Block. Presented By Tracy Engwirda. 28 September, 2005. Overview. Background Planning UI Integration Which APIs Package Structure Manifest Structure Security Framework UI Taglibs Building Blocks Manager .. and more. Terminology. Building Blocks Program

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My First Building Block

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  1. My First Building Block Presented By Tracy Engwirda 28 September, 2005

  2. Overview • Background • Planning • UI Integration • Which APIs • Package Structure • Manifest Structure • Security Framework • UI Taglibs • Building Blocks Manager • .. and more

  3. Terminology • Building Blocks Program • All development and integration with Blackboard products • Building Blocks Framework • The set of patterns and objects that allow interaction with all of Blackboard’s products • Building Blocks API • The Java and .NET interfaces • Building Blocks Manager • The management interface for Building Blocks • Building Block • An application that relies on the Building Blocks API • Blackboard Enabled • A quality assurance and testing program for Building Blocks

  4. Terminology • Building Block Types • Plug-in • Stand alone • Communicate only with Learning System • Bridge • Communicates with external server(s) and Learning System • Will not function without external server

  5. Planning • What are you project goals? • What are the application requirements? • How are you going to build your application? • JSP? Servlet? Web Service? • Where are you going to “hook” your application? • Which APIs are you going to use?

  6. Planning • Where are you going to hook your application into Blackboard?

  7. UI Entry Points • New Course Tool • New Course Communication Tool • New Control Panel Tool • New System Admin Tool • New Portal Module • New Content Type • New User Tool

  8. Entry Points • Programmatic Entry Points • Specified in bb-manifest.xml • Manual Entry Points • System Administrator created

  9. Course Tool <link> <type value="tool"/> <name value="Sample Tool"/> <url value="tool_1/tool.jsp" /> <description value="The description of Sample Tool." /> <icons> <listitem value="/images/icon.gif"/> </icons> </link> Course ID is passed to page

  10. Course Communication Tool <link> <type value="communication"/> <name value="Sample Communication Tool"/> <url value="communication_1/tool.jsp" /> <description value="The description of Sample Communication Tool." /> <icons> <listitem value="images/icon.gif"/> </icons> </link> Course ID is passed to page

  11. Course Control Panel <link> <type value="course_tool"/> <name value="Sample Control Panel Tool"/> <url value="control_panel_1/tool.jsp" /> <description value="The description of Control Panel Tool." /> <icons> <listitem value="images/icon.gif"/> </icons> </link> Course ID is passed to page

  12. System Admin Panel <link> <type value="system_tool"/> <name value="Sample Admin Panel Tool"/> <url value="admin_panel_1/tool.jsp" /> <description value="The description of Control Panel Tool." /> <icons> <listitem value="images/icon.gif"/> </icons> </link> Nothing passed to page

  13. Content Type <content-handler> <name value="Sample Content"/> <handle value= "resource/x-bbgs-sample"/> <http-actions> <create value="handler/create.jsp"/> <modify value="handler/modify.jsp"/> <remove value="handler/remove.jsp"/> </http-actions> <icons> <toolbar value="/images/add_ch1.gif"/> <listitem value="/images/icon.gif"/> </icons> </content-handler> Course ID and Container ID are passed to page

  14. Portal Module <module-defs> <module-type ext-ref="smpl-module" title="Sample Module Type" uicreatable="true"> <jsp-dir>module</jsp-dir> <jsp> <view>view.jsp</view> <admin>admin.jsp</admin> </jsp> </module-type> </module-defs> Nothing is passed to page

  15. User Tool <link> <type value="user_tool"/> <name value="Sample User Tool"/> <url value="user_tool_1/tool.jsp" /> <description value="The description of User Tool." /> <icons> <listitem value="images/icon.gif"/> </icons> </link> Nothing passed to page

  16. Custom Tab • System admin can change the location of a tab to point to a Building Block

  17. Custom Course Link • System admin or course instructor change add a Building Block to the course navigation area

  18. Hidden Link • A page does not need to be in the manifest in order to be loaded.

  19. Planning • Which APIs are you going to use?

  20. API Capabilities • Building Blocks APIs • Announcement (read and write) • Calendar (read and write) • Content (read and write) • Gradebook (read and write) • Session (read and write) • File system (read and write) • *User (read) • *Course (read) • *Membership (read) • .. And Many, many more!

  21. API Capabilities • How to write to User/Course/Membership? Event APIs • Event APIs use a similar data model to the Building Block APIs but has a different security model. Data object naming conventions match IMS structure of snapshot data.

  22. API Capabilities • Event APIs • Person (User) • Group (Course / Organization) • Membership • Catalog Category • Catalog Link • Data Source Key

  23. Planning • Installation

  24. Installation • Only system administrators can install • No restart required with Bb 6 • Must confirm Building Block permissions • Often requires configuration • Installation is through the Building Blocks Manager

  25. Building Block Manager • Heart of the Blackboard Platform • Controls security, permissions, and availability • Manages the “hook points” within the UI • Handles deployment

  26. Building Blocks Manager Blackboard Platform (LS/TS/CP) DB Building Block Manager User Interface Hooks / Availability Context Passing Security & Manifest Controls Deployment & Tracking API Wrappers & Convenience Methods Data Integrity Enforcement Content Gradebook Announcements User Course Membership Calendar File System Persistence Plugin Security Session TagLib (UI)

  27. Building Block Manager

  28. Structure of Building Blocks

  29. Building Block = Webapp • A Building Block is a Java Web Application (webapp) with one extra file • The extra file is bb-manifest.xml

  30. Directory Layout Shared via web Hidden from web

  31. Package Format • A webapp is a zip file with a specific directory structure • WinZip, PkZip, Java’s Jar utility, or Ant will all create the correct package • Even though it is a zip file, the extension does not matter (.zip, .war, .bb will all work)

  32. WEB-INF • Hidden from web • Contents • web.xml • bb-manifest.xml • Config directory • Classes directory • Lib directory

  33. Config Directory • Hidden from web • Only accessible by the Building Block • Can contain anything • One option for storing your application data. • No size limit

  34. Custom Code and Libraries • Classes • Stored in WEB-INF\classes • Jars • Stored in WEB-INF\lib • Automatically on classpath via custom classloader

  35. Manifest Structure • bb-manifest.xml • Set of directives the developer provides • Building Blocks Configuration • Application Definitions • Content Handlers • UI Links • Portal Modules • Security Declarations • Let’s Take a Look…

  36. bb-manifest.xml File <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <manifest> <plugin> <name value= "Blackboard Link Checker"/> <handle value= "link-checker"/> <description value= "This plugin is for checking and disabling external links in Blackboard."/> <version value= "2.0.4"/> <requires> <bbversion value="6.0.0"/> </requires> <vendor> <id value="bb"/> <name value="Blackboard Research and Development"/> <url value="http://www.blackboard.com/" /> <description value="Blackboard Research and Development Team" /> </vendor> <http-actions> <config value="admin/config.jsp"/> <remove value="admin/remove.jsp"/> </http-actions> <application-defs> <application handle="linkchecker" type="course" use-ssl="false" name="Link Checker" can-allow-guest="true" small-icon="" large-icon="">

  37. bb-manifest.xml File <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <manifest> <plugin> <name value= "Blackboard Link Checker"/> <handle value= "link-checker"/> <description value= "This plugin is for checking and disabling external links in Blackboard."/> <version value= "2.0.4"/> <requires> <bbversion value="6.0.0"/> </requires> <vendor> <id value="bb"/> <name value="Blackboard Research and Development"/> <url value="http://www.blackboard.com/" /> <description value="Blackboard Research and Development Team" /> </vendor> <http-actions> <config value="admin/config.jsp"/> <remove value="admin/remove.jsp"/> </http-actions> <application-defs> <application handle="linkchecker" type="course" use-ssl="false" name="Link Checker" can-allow-guest="true" small-icon="" large-icon="">

  38. bb-manifest.xml File <application-defs> <application handle="linkchecker" type="course" use-ssl="false" name="Link Checker“> <description lang="en_US">Link Checker tool installed with the Link Checker Plugin</description> <links> <link> <type value="course_tool"/> <name value="Link Checker"/> <url value="links/checklinks.jsp" /> <description value="Checks and disables links in Blackboard." /> <icons> <listitem value="images/link-logo.gif"/> </icons> </link> </links> </application> </application-defs> <permissions> <permission type="persist" name="Content" actions="modify"/> <permission type="attribute" name="user.authinfo" actions="get"/> <permission type="socket" name="*" actions="connect"/> </permissions> </plugin> </manifest>

  39. bb-manifest.xml File <application-defs> <application handle="linkchecker" type="course" use-ssl="false" name="Link Checker“> <description lang="en_US">Link Checker tool installed with the Link Checker Plugin</description> <links> <link> <type value="course_tool"/> <name value="Link Checker"/> <url value="links/checklinks.jsp" /> <description value="Checks and disables links in Blackboard." /> <icons> <listitem value="images/link-logo.gif"/> </icons> </link> </links> </application> </application-defs> <permissions> <permission type="persist" name="Content" actions="modify"/> <permission type="attribute" name="user.authinfo" actions="get"/> <permission type="socket" name="*" actions="connect"/> </permissions> </plugin> </manifest>

  40. bb-manifest.xml File <application-defs> <application handle="linkchecker" type="course" use-ssl="false" name="Link Checker“> <description lang="en_US">Link Checker tool installed with the Link Checker Plugin</description> <links> <link> <type value="course_tool"/> <name value="Link Checker"/> <url value="links/checklinks.jsp" /> <description value="Checks and disables links in Blackboard." /> <icons> <listitem value="images/link-logo.gif"/> </icons> </link> </links> </application> </application-defs> <permissions> <permission type="persist" name="Content" actions="modify"/> <permission type="attribute" name="user.authinfo" actions="get"/> <permission type="socket" name="*" actions="connect"/> </permissions> </plugin> </manifest>

  41. Security Framework • Security must be explicitly declared in the bb-manifest.xml file. • XML Format corresponds closely with the format for Standard Java policy files • Security will be enforced by the JVM

  42. UI Taglibs • XML style tags that can be placed on a jsp page. • Blackboard supplies two sets of taglibs • bbUI for making pages fit in with the product • bbData for giving pages context and virtual installation information • Specify your own in web.xml

  43. More information • Building Blocks Website http://www.blackboard.com/developers/ • Building Blocks Catalog • Software Development Kit (SDK) • Blackboard Developer Network (BbDN)http://behind.blackboard.com/ • Learning System Developer License • Communities, Knowledge Base, Code Snippets, White Papers, Beta Software • Other Community Resources • Open Source User Group and BBUG forums http://www.bb-opensource.org/

  44. Why Start from Scratch? • Start with a sample Building Block • Reuse existing code • Customize to meet your needs

  45. Enough of the theory! Let’s take a look at some real code…

  46. Questions?

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