Technical Guide

Contents

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02 edgeConnect: right first time business solutions 03 edgeConnect IDE 06 edgeConnect RTE 08 Management and control facilities and System requirements 09 About edge IPK

edgeConnect: Technical Guide

edgeConnect: right first time business solutions

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edgeConnect is a powerful and flexible user experience platform that eliminates the complex, costly and time-consuming effort of developing business solutions. Its unique capability allows business users and IT to work together to create, visualise, deploy and maintain complex front-end applications. Used by major financial institutions and blue-chip systems integration companies, it is the only platform that allows you to create multiple presentation experiences from a single application process definition. This powerful capability means that you can support contextual applications for different user types, deliver to multiple delivery channels and support different languages and brands without duplicating effort. edgeConnect supports different presentation experiences, including: online (rich client and thin client typically used for disability access and mobile devices), offline, portal or composite clients.

Users are able to create these experiences without needing to know scripting or the underlying technologies, such as Web Services or JavaScript. The edgeConnect user experience platform provides a complete suite of tools to build, document, deploy and maintain business solutions. These are described in detail over the following pages. The platform has two key elements: the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and the Run Time Environment (RTE). The IDE enables the rapid development, visualisation and maintenance of business solutions. The RTE is the server platform that renders a completed application for end users. It is a multi-presentation engine that provides high performance, scalability and security with support for open standards. The edgeConnect user experience platform also comprises the edgeConnect Deployment Manager, edgeConnect Administrator and pre-built applications and modules available for specific vertical markets.

edgeConnect Architecture

edgeConnect IDE

Project File

edgeConnect Administrator

MultiMultiBranded Channel

MultiUser

MultiMultiLingual Experience

Application Server
Presentation Types
Rich Client Thin Client Offline Client Portal Client Web Service Client

Presentation Process
Process Mgr Rules Mgr Session Mgr

edgeConnect RTE
DB

Presentation Integration
XML Web Services Java COM

edgeConnect Deployment Manager

Version Control

Databases Legacy 3rd Party Middle Systems Software Ware

Business Objects

edgeConnect Run Time Environment

edgeConnect: Technical Guide

edgeConnect IDE

03

The edgeConnect IDE is a powerful desktop application that enables the rapid configuration, visualisation and maintenance of business solutions. The IDE may be used by a single business user or by multiple users, with each addressing separate aspects of the development.

The true power of the IDE is its ability to separate the presentation (branding, language, behaviour and experience type) from the business process (screens: data capture and presentation, logic, validation) and from integration. This separation allows individual users to capitalise on the strength of their knowledge, ensuring right first-time delivery. For example: > Business users can visualise application screens, process logic and validation. > IT/technical users can integrate the developed solution to legacy and third-party systems. > Marketing users or designers can add the lookand-feel of the business process.

edgeConnect: Technical Guide

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This unique separation ensures that each interested party has the maximum influence on the part of the business process where they have the most knowledge and direct involvement. edgeConnect creates this true separation of process, integration and presentation in the IDE with three key editors: The Process Editor is used to create and visualise business processes. A process is made of multiple phases, which may consist of text, data entry fields, rules, buttons and even online help to guide end users. The IDE's powerful rules engine provides an extensive range of configurable rules to enable automation of business logic without writing code. The Presentation Editor is used to create and manage the look and feel as well of a process. Multiple presentations can be created and applied to processes without limit. And even though a process might be associated with separate presentations for different brands, audiences or channels, a single change in the process will automatically replicate across all presentations. A separate Theme editor is also provided to create reusable look and feel designs to achieve consistency throughout all applications without duplicating effort. The Integration Editor supports open interfaces for integration to in-house systems, third-party software or middleware. It supports relational databases, XML, Web services, and applications developed in Java, Microsoft COM, or .NET.

Features Key features of the edgeConnect IDE: Auto-generation of screens edgeConnect can automatically generate business solutions from databases, XML Schema and Web Service definitions (WSDL), thereby dramatically reducing development times. This powerful feature can produce screens, a data model and integration to the source from which the project was generated. These screens can then be tested immediately within the IDE. Multiple presentation experiences In addition to supporting multiple presentations for different look and feel, edgeConnect allows you to deploy each presentation in a different experience without any additional effort. Currently these experiences include: > Rich: Dynamic experience that utilises arich pallete of Ajax enabled controls providing a much more desktop style experience. > Accessible: supporting accessible browsers such as readers for the blind. > Pure HTML: Provides a lightweight UI without any client side Javascript typically used to create applications for devices that have very basic browsing capability > Portal: compliant to Java portal standards this experience is deployed as a standard portlet supporting portlet communication and views Components As organisations standardise their user interfaces on browser based technology the sheer scale and number of screens deployed will increase greatly. Components in edgeConnect allow you to create re-usable screens to reduce development effort and create consistency of common screens. These components adopt the applications look and feel so that they blend into applications naturally Components can be complete screens, parts of a screen or just logic or integration so provide great flexibility to maximise re-use..

edgeConnect: Technical Guide

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Widget Framework In the past developers have been reliant upon using default browser interface controls for particular form elements. Most of these are quite bland and basic such as text fields, buttons and images. edgeConnect provides a rich palette of more advanced controls (widgets) which can be used without scripting. These include AJAX Auto Complete text boxes, transferable lists, and date pickers. However edgeConnect is not constrained to its own controls and has a powerful widget framework that supports the use of 3rd party widget libraries such as BackBase, Dojo and JQuery providing limitless capability to utilise rich controls. The framework enables the use of these 3rd party controls without the need for scripting meaning that non-developers can create highly dynamic rich applications. Project documentation Documentation is an important part of any new development. But it can be very time consuming to create and maintain, which causes a drag on project time lines. That is why edgeConnect automates non-development aspects of the project lifecycle by generating documentation for the solutions produced. This supports a business functional specification to meet IT governance requirements and base-line test scripts for testers. Produced in HTML, these documents can be further edited for customisation purposes. Whenever any changes are made to the application, the documentation is automatically updated and can be output at any stage, reducing the maintenance burden.

edgeConnect also provides a notes capability to document applications. These notes can be categorised so that notes can be captured for any purpose during the project lifecycle. For example notes could be used to document feedback from screen previews, specifications for complex functionality or to document bugs/issues found in testing. DataSets edgeConnect allows you to create test data to drive dynamic behaviour in an application. This is a powerful capability that can greatly improve iterative prototyping and assist in demonstrations of an application when applications data sources are unavailable. Other features of the edgeConnect IDE include: > Drag and drop interface within a single editor or across editors, saving valuable time and effort. > Context sensitive hot-keys to speed the development process. > Business level reuse of individual items (e.g. data entry fields), groups of items (e.g. address fields), phases (e.g. payment details) or entire processes (e.g. an online mortgage application form). > Rapid visualisation that enables business users to run or preview processes, so usability problems can be identified straight away. This includes the ability to get a diagrammatical view of screen flow. > A comprehensive rules engine that supports intelligent questioning, system integration, validation and more. As well as its own rules engine, users have the option of using specialist third-party rules by using one of edgeConnect's integration options. > Notes allows project functionality to be described in detail therefore reducing the overhead of maintaining external documentation. > Fragment editor allows you to share any part of your development across other projects enabling greater re-use across developers.

edgeConnect: Technical Guide

edgeConnect RTE

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Application's created in the edgeConnect IDE are deployed with the edgeConnect RTE. The RTE provides a standard and consistent infrastructure for all edgeConnect applications managing many of the technical requirements normally associated with enterprise web applications such as security, scalability, performance, fault tolerance and cross browser support. The RTE is platform, database and language independent and provides maximum flexibility with its multi-presentation engine.

The RTE requires an applications container which can be any of the following: > J2EE Application Server, such as Sun Application Server, WebSphere, WebLogic or JBoss. > Servlet platform such as Apache Tomcat or Macromedia JRun. > Microsoft IIS 5+ (.Net). > Microsoft IIS 4 (COM).

MultiMultiBranded Channel

MultiUser

MultiMultiLingual Experience

Application Server
Presentation Types
Rich Client Thin Client Offline Client Portal Client Web Service Client

Presentation Process
Process Mgr Rules Mgr Session Mgr

edgeConnect RTE
DB

Presentation Integration
XML Web Services Java COM

Databases Legacy 3rd Party Middle Systems Software Ware

Business Objects

edgeConnect: Technical Guide

07

Features Powerful scalability The edgeConnect RTE supports the development of applications that serve thousands of users simultaneously by employing the following components and techniques: > Application server delegation The RTE delegates session management to the application server. This ensures that the RTE can be installed behind multiple application servers, taking advantage of any resilience built into the application server architecture (e.g. load balancing, clustering and/or multi-processor hardware, fail-over recovery, replicated sessions). This delegated model allows edgeConnect to scale, perform and persist through proven industry standard platforms. > Multi-threading Because the RTE is multithreaded, it can be used in conjunction with multi-processor servers. Harnessing the power of these servers allows the operating system of the server to spread workload to optimise performance. This feature, along with the Application Server Delegation, ensures that the RTE can be scaled within a single server or by multiple servers to handle large user volumes. > Database pooling The RTE provides configurable database pooling, allowing controlled access to corporate databases. Simultaneously, it also enables maximum performance for heavy usage. Alternatively, edgeConnect gives you the option of using database pooling provided by the application server. > Performance configuration The RTE allows two methods of operation for performance configuration: Agility edgeConnect can be configured at first to make live changes as soon as they are available without having to re-start the edgeConnect RTE. Speed Once the application is settled, by caching business processes in memory the most optimal performance can be achieved

Delivering an open standards platform edgeConnect is committed to providing an open standards platform to future-proof your investment and ensure maximum integration flexibility. edgeConnect performs on any hardware and operating system that supports a Java runtime and will run on COM, .NET and J2EE application servers. It integrates with any SQL database via JDBC and communicates with COM components, Web services, XML interfaces, and Java components (classes and EJB). Enabling security Because the edgeConnect RTE is integrated with the application server of your choice, standards-based SSL can be leveraged to ensure data is securely delivered. Additionally, the RTE has an open interface with third-party security systems, such as RSA secure-id token keys, LDAP or Active Directorybased authentication. The RTE also has configurable security settings for validating the integrity of data coming back from an application to eliminate hacking threats. A wide range of techniques are deployed including checks for the OWASP top ten security threats. Having these checks in the server removes the risk of developers not incorporating security features into every screen created. Cross Browser Support edgeConnect renders screen in standard HTML that is cross browser compliant. No additional plug-ins are required which maximises the reach of users on the web and makes deployment simple.

edgeConnect: Technical Guide

Management and control facilities and System requirements

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Management and control facilities edgeConnect Administrator edgeConnect provides release management and version control facilities to co-ordinate multideveloper teams through an administrator interface. The edgeConnect Administrator includes: > Roles and permissions for development participants to control access to projects. > Release cycle definition, to manage releases through a user defined lifecycle, such as develop, test and live. > Release management, to manage the promotion/relegation of project files through the lifecycle. > A version control server to manage and track changes. This ensures that multi-developer teams do not overwrite each others work, and that developers can only modify what they have been given permission for. > A complete audit history of who made what changes. edgeConnect Deployment Manager edgeConnects Deployment Manager manages the deployment of releases and associated configuration files, and installs to the edgeConnect RTE. The edgeConnect Deployment Manager allows you to: > Manage configuration settings for projects. > Configure environment parameters without changing project files (e.g. database sources, which may differ between development, testing and deployment). > Package associated libraries, such as JavaScript, HTML and image files. > Configure portlets and Web services. > Build a deployment package that can be installed on a web application server.

edgeConnect system requirements The following details the minimum system and server requirements of edgeConnect. edgeConnect IDE and Administrator > PC with Pentium IV or above, or equivalent UNIX processor. > 1GB of RAM or above recommended. > 400MB of available hard disk space. > 1024x768 or higher resolution monitor. > Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 with JavaScript enabled, to execute Preview and Run functionalities. edgeConnect Server for Version and Release Management A server is required for the edgeConnect Enterprise Developer to control version and release management. > Server with Xeon processor or above, or equivalent UNIX processor. > 1GB of RAM or above recommended. > 512MB of available hard disk space. edgeConnect Run Time Server A server is required for deployment of the business solution in the edgeConnect Run Time Environment. > Server with Xeon processor or above, or equivalent UNIX processor. > 1GB RAM or above recommended. > 400MB of available hard disk space. > Any mainstream Java Application Server supporting the J2EE Servlet Specification version 2.2 or above. edgeConnect end user requirements The following requirements are necessary for the end users to run the deployed business solution: > Microsoft Internet Explorer v6, v7 or v 8, Firefox v2 or v3, Safari v3 or v3.1, Opera v8.5 or v9, Google Chrome v4.

edgeConnect: Technical Guide

About edge IPK

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edge IPK is the leading provider of User Experience Platform (UXP) for creating and managing multi-channel business applications. With edgeConnect, it has helped leading insurance, lending and banking organisations to deliver a wide range of front-end business solutions providing accelerated return on investment and with far more intrinsic flexibility for change than has traditionally been possible. edge IPK eliminates the costly and time-consuming effort of writing code to develop business process solutions. This revolutionary approach increases the flexibility to deploy solutions for new brands, channels and geographies with minimal effort. edge IPK has a blue chip customer base in financial service organisations including global implementations for ABN AMRO and Zurich Financial Services and group wide implementations at LV=, Willis, and Allianz.

edge IPK 3 Station Yard Station Road Hungerford Berkshire RG17 0DY T F E w + 44 (0)1635 231231 +44 (0)1488 685160 amanda.powell@edgeipk.com www.edgeipk.com