sforce 3.0 Workshop Custom Control with sforce Explorer Extension

    Author: Salesforce.com
Last Updated: May 25, 2004
Requirements: WebLogic Workshop
Versions: 8.1 sp2

What It Does

sforce Explorer
The sforce Explorer is a Workshop Extension that provides ready access to the salesforce.com meta-data for your salesforce.com account. Just select View/Windows/sforce Explorer from the Workshop built in menus to display a convenient hierarchical view of the objects accessible to you as well as detailed meta-data about each object. The meta-data includes object and field permissions, data types, field lengths, labels and names, picklist values and valuable relationship information.

sforce 3.0 Workshop Custom Control With sforce 3.0 Workshop Custom Control, application developers can easily incorporate salesforce.com functionality when building web applications, web services, portal or integration solutions on the BEA WebLogic Enterprise Platform 8.1. Salesforce.com is offering the release of the sforce 3.0 Workshop Custom Control to allow customers and developers the ability to build new applications that access sforce, the new client/service application development system from salesforce.com.

The sforce 3.0 Workshop Custom Control uses service-oriented components, introduced with BEA WebLogic Workshop 8.1, that make it easier to connect to and use any IT system or asset as a reusable service. Controls simplify development by abstracting the details of J2EE, encapsulating best-practice implementations of systems, logic, and ISV applications to serve as building blocks for the service-oriented assembly and integration of applications and business processes. The sforce 3.0 Workshop Custom Control will enable salesforce.com customers to easily connect to and extend salesforce.com functionality through sforce web services. Using industry-standard web services protocols, developers will be able to extend salesforce.com functionality and integrate salesforce.com with other applications.

For additional information on the release of the sforce 3.0 Workshop Custom Control, please contact either Dave Carroll or Mike Kreaden or visit the sforce website.


Installing the sforce 3.0 Workshop Control
  1. Download the file sforceControl.zip into your <BEAHOME>/ext_components directory.
  2. Create or open a web service (.jws) file in a Workshop application.
  3. Select the Insert/Controls menu and  choose the "sforce 3.0" control.


Installing sforce Explorer

SForce Explorer is installed automatically the first time you create an instance of the sforce control. In case of an error, follow the following instructions.

  1. Shutdown Workshop if it is running.
  2. Open the file sforceControl.zip in Winzip.  This file is normally found in the <BEAHOME>/ext_components.
  3. Extract the file sforceExplorer.jar file to <BEAHOME>\weblogic81\workshop with the "use Folder Names" option so that it lands in <BEAHOME>\weblogic81\workshop\extensions
  4. Restart Weblogic Workshop



Using sforce Explorer

  1. From the View/Windows menu, select sforce Explorer
  2. A new tab will be added to the IDE next to the Application tab.
  3. Click the + sign for sforce Entities<\LI>
  4. Enter your username and password, then click OK.

You can now see all of the objects that are available in salesforce.com. Expanding the tree nodes will reveal additional information about each of the objects. You can right-click anywhere on the tree to logout of the API or to find a link to the sforce Community forums. You username and login information is securely saved as a property of the of the Workshop IDE. To modify the sforce Explorer properties, select the Tools/IDE Properties menu item. The IDE  properties dialog will be displayed. Select sforce Explorer to modify your username, password or the web services endpoint. The endpoint can be used to run your application against a server using an different version of the services than the WSDL version of the control. Please visit sforce.com for more information.

Installing sforce Workshop Portal Sample

This version of the sforce Workshop Control supports WebLogic Workshop 8.1 sp2.

    When you are using control at first time the samples are installed at BEA_HOME\weblogic81\samples\partners\SalesForce

To run the examples:
  1. From the Workshop File/Open/Application menu, open the SForcePortalSample.work file and run Controller.jpf
  2. Once the test browser displays the login page, you can enter you salesforce.com username and password to access your data.
    NOTE: You must have a valid login for an API enabled salesforce.com account. Visit www.sforce.com to sign up for a FREE API enabled developer account.

For more information:
  1. see the javadocs contained in the download
  2. see sforce API documentation.
  3. the XML Schemas used by the sforce Workshop Control can be extracted from schemas.jar
How It Works

The release of the sforce 3.0 Workshop Custom Control only works with the sp2 release of WebLogic Workshop 8.1. The sforce 3.0 Workshop Custom Control provides an implementation of the sforce Enterprise WSDL (API 3.0) .



Click the following link for the SalesForce 3.0 WSDL exposed methods: sforce.com API
For method exposed in the SalesForce Workshop Custom control click the following link: sforceWrapper API