Portlets: User-Interface Components to Grid

Abstract

Grids are becoming platforms for high-performance and distributed computing. Grids benefit users by permitting them to access heterogeneous resources, such as machines, data, people and devices that are distributed geographically and organizationally. The advent of Portlet API offers Grid Portal vendors a common programming model that will allow developers to more rapidly plug new functionality into a Portal server, making it easily available for its consumer base. The Portlet model gives users a flexible, easyto-use interface, and it gives Portal developers a model to create pluggable and dynamic application support. A Portlet provides a “mini-window” within a Portal page. The main focus of this work is on” Grid Portlet”. It describes the Grid Portlets, Concept behind them, their importance in Portal design and how they interact with the Portal. It is also discussed how Portlets are different from the Servlets, Portlet standards that are available for the development of the Grid portal i.e. WSRP and JSR-168. Finally, design and implementation details of various Portlets like Login Portlet, Our Service Portlet, Search Portlet, News Portlet, Weather Portlet, Date and Time Portlet, Calculator Portlet, Service Submission Portlet, New User Portlet, Portal Administrator Portlet, Install Portlet, Uninstall Portlet, Layout Manager Portlet, Credential Portlet, Resource Browse Portlet etc are Elaborated. The features provided by these Portlets are: · Common infrastructure for managing content. · No need to reinvent login, user customization services. · Add our own service implementation in a well-defined way. · Content (and service user interfaces) are added in a well defined way