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LWWCM/CM overview

LWWCM is a Web-based, multi-user authoring environment tool, a Web Publisher product used to create, control and publish company Web sites. By using LWWCM, the development and delivery of information is accelerated, consequently allowing users to drive down the cost of creating and managing their web site contents which usually exist in different forms and formats within the companies. With LWWCM, the information can be freely distributed and instantly updated across all existing applications, including Internet, intranet, and extranet web sites.

One of the many benefits of LWWCM is that you can publish content to your Web site from anywhere in the world. You can do this via internet or direct access to the LWWCM server.

LWWCM separates the design and presentation from content creation. This allows the creation of content once, and the display of the same thing with a different look and feel. Business users can create and maintain their web sites easily, without worrying about the impact of their contents in the web sites look and feel. This also guarantees a consistent presentation because the contents remain unchanged even when the design changes. LWWCM uses reusable building blocks such as templates, page design and component objects.

Lifecycles can be created containing draft, published and archived Web content objects. A typical Web content workflow contains a draft, publish and archive life stage.
Other advantages of using IBM LWWCM as your Enterprise Web Publisher tool are:

• Reducing delays in getting company information published on the Web
• Prevent IT personnel from becoming overloaded with requests for Web content changes
• Eliminate Web publishing process bottlenecks
• Integration of external resources using the new federated content component.
• Automated business rules and defined workflows for the publishing of content
• Personalization of content to classes of users
• Timely creation, approval, publishing and archiving of content can help customers become an On Demand Business enterprise
• Content which is relevant to people, in context with their role, can be delivered in a timely manner
• Auditable management of content is required to meet the requirements of increasing regulated environments
• Possibility to integrate with IBM Websphere Portal
• Scheduled publishing and expiring of Web pages
• Scalability from mid-sized to large enterprises
• Collaborative functionalities, including workflow, personalization, and caching services
• Security settings to control user access to different areas of the Web site
• Syndication, allowing the backup and restoring of the published business information
• Versioning of content functionality, which could be helpful through the document review and approval process
• Cost reduction of managing sites, while ensuring that information on our site always remains updated

IBM DB2 Content Manager V8 (CM) is the preferred repository for LWWCM. CM manages and federates all enterprise content such as imaging, rich media, computer output, compound docs and Web content.
Any CM content can be easily published on the Web. Advantages of using CM as repository for LWWCM are:

• Long-term retention management of content-records management
• Version control of external data resources
• Rich data model
• Powerful APIs
• Scalability
• High performance and availability
• Integrated hierarchical storage management and archiving using for example Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM)
• Ease of administration compared to other repository types
• Leverage an already existing CM infrastructure
• Save time and money by re-purposing content instead of re-creating it
• Simplify administration of managing content
• Manage the explosion of diverse content types, that is placing different Web assets into the same Web page
• Reduce costs: allows re-use of infrastructure components and information
• Promote deployment of timely and personalized content
• Easily publish content from CM to pervasive devices using LWWCM templates
• Any content produced can be easily accessed by non-technical users and approved for publishing on web sites
• Leverage your enterprise content to the greatest possible advantage, streamlining operations, reducing costs, strengthening customer and partner relationships and producing a rapid return on your information.
• Minimize probability of data leakage

The combination of LWWCM and CM enables you to capture, manage and re-purpose all forms of content across diverse applications, business processes, and platforms to deliver integrated, consistent and on demand information to customers, partners, and employees. When using CM as repository for LWWCM objects (such as site, site area, templete, content and others) these objects are stored in CM and represented as items. Items are defined by an item template called an Item Type. All LWWCM objects are stored in CM as "AJPEData" and "AJPEResources" Items Types.

The operational environment in this paper includes:

• IBM Lotus Workplace Web Content Management V2 (LWWCM), Java Edition
• IBM DB2 Content Manager V8.2 (CM), Enterprise Edition
• A browser that works with IBM Lotus Workplace Web Content Management (see System Requirements)

Many content publishers, each on their own computer, can access the ILWWCM server Web site at the same time using a browser.
The LWWCM server is a WebSphere Application Server application, which can be accessed from any computer.
After installation start the LWWCM server. As LWWCM is browser-based, start a Web browser window and specify the IBM LWWCM V2 user interface url "http://hostname:9080/LWWCM/connect/aptrix". You will be asked for your Administrator account and password. After the LWWCM User Interface Window will pop up, as shown in Figure 1.

Within the LWWCM UI we have 3 different approaches to retrieve and publish data stored in CM as Web page content. With LWWCM's connect tags, the federated content component and the JSP component it's possible to retrieve and publish data stored in CM. With JSP's it's also possible to update content not created via LWWCM. There are different levels of integration you can reach with the three components mentioned above. For details you should read the upcoming IBM Redbook in Q3 "Content Manager: Integration with LWWCM, Java Edition"

• The federated content component can be used to incorporate one single external record into your Webpage. A single record can be a video, a document content or all or subset of one item object metadata set (attributes). The LWWCM federated content component facilitates the search for the references of that content through the usage of previously in IBM Information Integrator for Content defined search templates.
• The connect tags can be used to create lists of external resources based on a backend specific query string. For example to show a list of URL references on the Web site and to access and show text documents, videos, or metadata from item objects stored in the CM system.
• The JSP component is the most powerful and flexible way to integrate the external CM resources by leveraging the CM Java APIs. This way you can integrate the functionality of the CM API's in a Web site to view, search, update any information which is stored in any CM repository. Security is applied as defined in the JSP.

Web Pages can be dynamically updated from search results against CM but also for example from HTML or DB2® Universal Database™ resources.
Mobile Sales Force Automation (SFA), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) enterprise information can dynamically be integrated in an enterprise process Web page. For example the mobile field employees synchronize the latest text, images, audio or video data from their mobile devices (PDA's) via IBM DB2 Everyplace® Synchronization Server to an enterprise back-end database. After this synchronized information can dynamically be integrated in the enterprise intranet Web page for further processing.

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Solution architecture, concept and LWWCM objects

Web designers can easily create Web content with IT tools such as WebSphere Studio, DreamWeaver or others. On demand other relevant enterprise information can be dynamically integrated in the Web content, for example from a mobile DB2 Everyplace source database.
LWWCM Web objects are stored as LWWCM data and resource items in CM. LWWCM itself is used to handle all Web content information's by handling/controlling Web site and object modelling, site management, content lifecycle, interface components (menus and navigators), transaction aggregation, profile information, workflow and security.
Finally this Web information can be published by using hierarchical or cross-link Web information representation schemas. Figure 2 below shows the overall LWWCM solution architecture.

In our installation CM is used as repository but instead of CM other repositories products such as IBM DB2 Universal Database, IBM® Cloudscape™ or the file system can be used.
Web Content Management separates content creation from design creation. The main LWWCM content creation objects, functions and features are described below. You can navigate to any described section of LWWCM through the LWWCM UI navigation screen, as shown in Figure 1.

1. Content Management navigation to create and manage content.
• Content Library objects are the content components, existing objects can be viewed by. Examples include: Title, Site Area, Category, Workflow and Template. The content objects draw the other objects together, by referencing them. These are the only objects that content publisher will create. The other objects will be created by a Web designer or site manager.
2. Design & Development navigation to create and manage content templates, page design objects and the formatting. These objects are the shell of Web sites.
• Page Design objects are describing the design of Web pages such as the layout, references to various components that need to appear on most pages and also default properties such as background, font, etc. For the final Web page generation, the Content and the Page Design are combined to form a complete page.
• Content Templates objects are used to store a set of default values, such as "owner, author, workflow and security features"; to be used when creating new Content. Text, Image, File Resource, Rich text, HTML or Component References attributes can be added. These are additional fields, in which a content publisher can insert content, e.g. display title, summary, body or an image. These fields\components only appear on a Web page if they are referenced by Page Design objects.
• Component Library objects are the building blocks of a Web Content Management environment, they can be referenced in other Web Content Management objects such as within Page Design objects. The following types of Component Library objects can be created: Menu, Navigator, Text, Rich Text, HTML, Image, File Resource, Taxonomy, Username and Reference.
• Search Rules objects are used to store a set of rules that can be used to restrict or filter the search result of a Menu.
3. Site Management navigation to create and manage site framework and category taxonomy.
• Site Framework objects are the "site map" of the Web site. They are defined first. Site Framework objects can be of type Site or Site Area. Site objects are used to group a set of Site Area objects. A Site Area or Site object must reference a Page Design object before a Web page can be previewed or published. The key point is that Content objects are grouped in Site Frameworks and each Content object in a Web site is assigned to at least one Site Area. Content publishers who create new content objects select the content template and site area, and this pair then automatically links to the required page design.
• Category Management objects are grouped within taxonomies, for example a financial and news category as part of a metabank taxonomy.
4. Security & Workflow navigation to create and manage users, security, and workflows.
• Users & Groups objects used to control access (eg. Live, Read, Edit, Delete) to different LWWCM objects.
• Workflows, Stages & Actions objects are used to control the access, verification and approval of Web Content objects. Only if a new content object is approved at all stages is viewed on the Web site. A draft and a published stage are the minimum stages to publish a page.
5. Version Management navigation to manage versions of LWWCM objects
• The Version Library shows a list of all objects which have been versioned at least once. When users create or update content or any other version enabled LWWCM object, they might want to save versions of each item, LWWCM provides the versioning repository for that purpose. If required, a user can return to a previous version of any piece of content. These units are easy to store and to restore.
6. Syndication & Deployment navigation to manage the site deployment.
• Syndicator objects are used as transport layers for the LWWCM engine to replicate data between servers. For example to separate development and production servers without effecting each other. A syndicator object describes the server making its objects available "to be subscribed from" during replication.
• Subscriber objects describe the server to where the objects are replicated from the syndicator server.

The main steps to set up a Web Content Management Web site with LWWCM are described below: (see also Figure 3. "Steps to create and publish a new Web Page" )

1. Define user's roles in your Web content management project, create the Users and/or user Groups objects. Select corresponding security rights.
2. Create workflow(s) to define the proper procedure(s) for creating and publishing content.
3. Create the Site Framework. First create an object of type Site. Second create one or more objects from type Site Area as child of the Site object. Specify the order in which the Site Area objects are displayed.
4. Create a Component Library objects which are the building blocks of a Web content management environment, such as menus or navigators.
5. Create the Content Templates to describe the attributes for your Web content, e.g workflow, security and component attributes. For each component attribute specify a 'Name' and a 'Type'. Allowed types are: 'Text, Image, Rich Text, HTML, File Resource ,Component Reference'. This are the fields where a content publisher will insert content.
6. Handle the presentation design by creating Page Design objects. In the page design reference Component Library objects and also specify the content attributes of the Content Templates which should be displayed in given locations on the Web page.
7. Specify the Content Template and Page Design for each of your Site and Site Area.
8. The final step is to add/create content in the Content Library by creating a new Content object for each defined Site Area. Optionally add/specify content for any component attribute, from step e.).

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Picture collection sample solution with LWWCM

To clarify the steps to create a Web Content Management solution, in this subchapter the creation of a simple "Picture collection" sample Web solution is described. Figures 4a and 4b below show the main and a sub Web page of this solution.

Overview steps to create this Web Content Management "Picture collection" solution with LWWCM:

1. Create User and/or Group objects in the Security & Workflow navigation list. Select the proper security tabs such as "Live" and/or "Read" and/or "Edit" and/or "Delete". The "Life" security right will allow a User (or group) to view an Object in the "Live" Web site.
2. Create a Workflow object in the Security & Workflow navigation list. Define the desired work stages for Content Library objects until they can be published. Give your own userID object the "Approve" right for approving an object within a workflow. In this sample a workflow is created using the typical stages Draft, Approved and Published.
3. Create a Picture Site Framework. First create an object of type Site, for example name it "PictCollect". Second create 4 Site Area objects, "Work", "Family", "Friends" and "Vacation", as child's of the "PictCollect" Site object.
4. Create the following Company Library objects in the Design & Development interface navigator, which are used in the final Web pages, as shown in Figure 4a and 4b.
• Create a new Menu Component in the Component Library list. Menus are list of links that allow site visitors to access content pages, in our example the pages for work, family, friends and vacation pictures.
• Create a "World Clock" java script for the used world clock and reference this java script by creating in the Component Library list a new File Resource component referencing the "World Clock" java script.
• Create a new Menu Component in the Component Library list for the world clock, to show different world times from different Cities.
• Create components of type Image, in this example an image component for the picture on the upper left corner in Figure 4a and the Lotus Web Content Manager Logo image object in Figure 4b were created.
• Create components of type Style for header, footer and body components, on each page.
• Create header HTML component objects in the Component Library list referencing the previously created images and the world clock menu component. For this sample create two header components, one for the header as shown in Figure 4a the other for the header in the sub-pages such as shown in Figure 4b.
• Create a footer HTML component object in the Component Library list referencing the IBM logo component, add a reference tag to open the IBM homepage, if the IBM logo is clicked.
5. Create two Content Templates objects in the Design & Development interface navigator. One template is used as Web content template for the page as shown in Figure 4a and the other object is the used Web content template as shown in Figure 4b. In this sample the template used in Figure 4b contains 2 Text attributes, Title and Body, and 6 Image attributes. Remember each attribute specifies a 'Name' and a 'Type', this are the fields to insert content.
6. Create two Page Design objects in the Design & Development interface navigator. One object for the main Web page design and the other object is the used one for the 4 sub-pages. Reference the previously created header, style, footer Component Library objects and the right template component attributes where content should be added.
7. Now specify the proper Content Template and Page Design pair for each of your Site and Site Area object.
8. The final step is to add content to the Content Library list by creating new content objects for each defined Site Area. In our sample one Content Library object was created for each of the 4 Site Area objects. For example when I create the work content object I add four "Pictures from work" images. Theoretically as the Content Template object for the work sub-page contains 6 image attributes, which are also referenced in the corresponding Page Design, two more images can be added. New vacation pictures, synchronized to the LWWCM server from a PDA via DB2 Everyplace (see e.g. IBM DB2 Everyplace Wireless Data Synchronization with Nokia 92xx Communicators) can be dynamically added by using connection and search tags against the DB2 Everyplace synchronization database. The publication of this new content can be controlled by defining a corresponding Web publishing workflow.

Readers who are interested in details about LWWCM should attend the IBM LWWCM user workshop "LWWCM430". Additional information can be found in the referenced documents below, see "Resources" below.

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Summary

The architecture, the concept and features of LWWCM/CM are explained in this article.

We talked about the concept and features of IBM Lotus Workplace Web Content Management Java Edition (LWWCM), using IBM DB2 Content Manager (CM) as repository for the created LWWCM objects.

LWWCM streamlines the Web content management process from content authoring, workflow, management, integration and delivery. It delivers faster implementation with an component architecture that reuses components and ensures the quality and consistency of content published to a portal or a Web site.

LWWCM/CM enables non-technical and technical users to combine the collaborative authoring of web content management with the ability to integrate and leverage content from multiple applications and business processes.

Resources

• Upcoming Q3 2004 IBM Redbook "Content Manager: Integration with LWWCM, Java Edition"
  
  
• Lotus Workplace Web Content Management
  
  
• IBM DB2 Content Manager
  
  
• Whitepapers such as: ( IBM Lotus Workplace Web Content Management or IBM Lotus Workplace Web Content Management/WebSphere Portal Integration, 2004)
  
  
• IBM DB2 Everyplace Wireless Data Synchronization with Nokia 92xx Communicators
  
  
• Web developer resource
  
  
• Browse for books on these and other technical topics.
  
  

About the authors

Walter Mayer has worked several years in the software development and customer services area as a technical consultant for Enterprise Information Portal and Text Mining. Beginning in March 2001, he has worked as a DB2 consultant and DB2 Everyplace project leader in EMEA. He guided the development of a DB2 Everyplace workshop which he taught several times in various locations throughout EMEA. In past years he developed presentations and papers on different areas. In 2004 he became a member of the EMEA CM Business Partner Technical Enablement Team and he teaches CM certification workshops in different IBM EMEA Innovation Centers. He has been involved in a number of ISV and customer projects throughout EMEA.

Stephan Bolten is an Advisory IT Specialist of the IBM Software Services department in Zurich/Switzerland. He has more than 5 years of experience in IT, especially in developing IBM Lotus Domino solutions as well as IBM Websphere Portal Server and IBM Lotus Workplace related applications. His further areas of expertise include web content managment solutions with IBM Lotus Workplace Web Content Management for Domino and Java, enterprise integration and enterprise search approaches. He has worked extensively on projects regarding these topics mentioned since he joined IBM in 2000.

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Table of contents

• Get the products
• LWWCM/CM overview
• Solution architecture, concept and LWWCM objects
• Picture collection sample solution with LWWCM
• Summary
• Resources
• About the authors
• Comments

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