Allaire Spectra e-Business Construction Kit

Lead author Ben Forta is Allaire Corporation's Product Evangelist and is the author of three other books on Allaire products (ColdFusion 4 Application Construction Kit, Advanced ColdFusion 4 Application Development, and Sams Teach Yourself HomeSite 4 in 24 Hours). He is a recognized authority on Web application development and is a frequent lecturer and columnist on these subjects. Ashley King, Gerry Libertelli, Nate Weiss, and Raymond Camden are members of the Allaire Spectra design and development team. They also are contributing authors to existing ColdFusion books.

Introduction.


Who Should Use This Book. What You Should Know. How to Use This Book. Conventions Used in This Book.

I. GETTING STARTED.

1. Understanding Spectra.


Spectra Product Overview. The Spectrum of Participants. Spectra Architecture. Goals and Objectives.

2. Understanding ColdFusion.


ColdFusion and Its Relationship to Spectra. Working with Spectra and ColdFusion.

3. Spectra Concepts and Terminology.


Understanding Spectra's Terminology. Tag Usage. Object-Based Development. Container-Oriented and Rules-Based Publishing. The Site Object Model. The Site Layout Model. The Site Process Model. Services.

4. Installing and Configuring Spectra.


Supported Platforms and System Requirements. Installing Spectra on Windows NT. Configuring the Webtop. Uninstalling Spectra. Sample Application Walkthrough.

5. Navigating the Spectra Design Tools.


Spectra Design Tools. Using the Webtop. ColdFusion Studio Integration.

II. BUILDING SPECTRA APPLICATIONS.

6. Introduction to Spectra Programming.


Creating and Initializing the Application. Creating Property Definitions. Creating the ContentObject Type. Coding Handlers. Creating Objects. Invoking Objects.

7. Planning Spectra Sites.


Planning an Application. Planning an Intranet for A2Z Books. Identifying the Site Layout Model. Planning an e-Commerce Site for A2Z Books. Planning a Community Site for A2Z Books.

8. Building the Site Structure.


Creating a Site Object Model. Using the Site Layout Model. Basic Display Handlers.

9. Building Display Components.


The User Interface Toolkit. Using the UI Controls. Using Browser Tools. Securing UI Controls.

10. Creating and Managing Content.


Understanding Spectra Content Management. Managing Webtop Content. Creating Content Items. Managing Content Programmatically. Advanced Content Management: Multilingual Properties and Embedded. Objects. Managing Core Object Types Through the Webtop.

III. ADVANCED SPECTRA.

11. Working with Meta Data.


Understanding Meta Data. Creating and Managing Hierarchies via the Webtop. Creating and Managing Hierarchies Programmatically. Programmatically Associating Keywords with Content Items. Where Meta Data Is Used. Understanding Meta Data's Limitations.

12. Using Process Logic Paths.


Understanding PLPs. Creating PLPs with Spectra. Coding the Steps of a PLP. Exporting PLPs.

13. Working with Workflow.


Understanding Workflows. Creating Workflows and Tasks Through the Webtop. Creating Workflow Instances Through the Webtop. Creating Workflows and Tasks Programmatically. Programming Workflows.

14. Searching and Indexing.


Using Spectra to Find Content. Searching Types. Searching All Types in the Database. Using . Using SQL-Style Searches. Scheduling Indexing Operations.

15. Using Message Queuing.


Understanding Message Queues in Spectra. Creating Message Queues in Spectra. Adding a Handler to Message Queues. Adding Messages to Queues. Coding and Calling Message Queue Handlers.

IV. SPECTRA ADMINISTRATION.

16. Using Spectra Security Options.


Introduction to Security. Using the Webtop to Manage Security. Programming Security. Authenticating Users. Managing the Security Databases. Final Notes on Security.

17. Site Reporting.


Introduction to Business Intelligence. Using the Webtop to Manage Business Intelligence. Designing and Programming Your Own Reports. Coding a Configure Handler. Coding an Execute Handler.

18. Implementing Personalization.


Setting Up Your Own Private Web. Establishing Spectra User Profiles. Implementing the User Profile. Taking Personalization to the Next Level.

19. Rules-Based Publishing.


Using Rules-Based Publishing. Integrating with Personalization.

20. Syndication.


Syndication and Affiliation. Content Syndication. Application Syndication. Direct Remote Access.

21. Creating e-Commerce Sites.


What Is e-Commerce? Building Shopping Carts in Spectra. Building Order Histories. The Checkout Process.

22. Extending Spectra.


Using PITA Tags to Extend Spectra. Building a Custom Webtop.

23. Administering Spectra.


Administering Applications. Managing Data. Managing Security. Caching. Logging. Indexing.

24. Deploying Spectra Applications.


Understanding Deployment. Setting Up a New Spectra Environment. Deploying Applications. Performance and Configuration.

V. APPENDIXES.

Appendix A: Allaire Spectra Tags.


A Quick Reference to Spectra's Tags. Browser Binding Tags. Content Management Tags. Exception Handling Tags. Logging Tags. Messaging Tags. Meta Data Tags. Object Packager Tags. Object Store Tags. PLP (Process Logic Path) Tags. Schedule Tags. Search and Index Tags. Security Tags. Session Management Tags. Site Modeling Tags. User Interface Tags. User Profile and Preference Tags. Utility Tags. Workflow Tags.

Appendix B: Spectra Structures.


Category. Child Element. ContentObject Type. Error Data. Group. Hierarchy. Log File. Message Data. Message Queue. Object. PLP. PLP ThisStep. Property Definition. Property Search. Schedule. Style Object. Type Method Definition. User. User Directory. User Worklist. Workflow Agenda.

Appendix C: COAPI Data Types.


File. Flash. Image. RealMedia.