Developing Portlets with Apache Pluto
Installing Pluto into Tomcat
After building Pluto, it must be installed within a servlet container. The easiest way to do this is to use Apache Tomcat and the Pluto installation utility. For Tomcat installation instructions, see Tomcat Documentation. Once installed, Pluto can easily be installed by executing the following commands.
cd <pluto-home>/pluto-util m2 pluto:install
Deploying Portlets
Deploying portlets is currently a two step process in Pluto 1.1. First, portlets must be assembled. Assembly takes a compliant portlet application and injects hooks so that it can be deployed within the Pluto portal and serviced by the Pluto Portlet Container. Portlet assembly can be accomplished by executing:
cd <pluto-home>/pluto-util m2 pluto:assemble -Dmaven.deploy.deployment=<path-to-war>
cd <pluto-home>/pluto-util m2 pluto:deploy -Dmaven.deploy.deployment=<path-to-war>
Conclusion
To ease adoption of the Portlet Specification, Apache Pluto implements more than just the required Portlet container. Pluto is also includes a lightweight portal implementation which can be used for developing portlets or embedded within a complex web application. The Pluto utilities offer means for quickly installing the portal, assembling portlet applications and deploying them within the Pluto portal. While Pluto 1.1 is still in it's infancy, it is easy to use, simple to customize, ideal for a lightweight portlet development environment.
About the Author
David DeWolf has been developing web applications, portals and portlet applications for six years. He is a member of the Apache Portals Project Management Committee and an active commiter to Apache Pluto, the reference implementation of the Portlet Specification. David currently works at Digital Focus. Digital Focus provides software development, agile coaching, and IT consulting services to Fortune 1000 and medium-sized businesses. Contact David at author@daviddewolf.com.
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