Metron Consulting

Does Your Istore Load Quick Enough

Rajavel Ramalingam

Sami Vellaiyan

Jan 21, 2008

• Metron Consulting Specializes in • Oracle Applications Implementations• SOA and Web Services Development• Java & OA Framework Development• OBIEE Development• Web 2.0 Developments using LAMP technologies• Custom Reporting Solutions (Using Oracle tools and open

source technologies)

ABOUT US

Agenda

• Does Your Istore Load Quick Enough• Proposed Solution• Demo Solution• Istore Setup• Q&A

Istore Media Loading Issue

• Speed continues to be a critical issue when serving up Media Objects in iStore. Slow loading objects contribute significantly to customer abandonment and low overall customer satisfaction.

• Caching Media Objects increases loading speed and improves overall robustness of your iStore. This case-study describes caching media objects that enabled the customer to improve the site performance and reduce the overhead.

• The approach encompasses the best format for handling the media objects in an efficient manner o• Discuss how to achieve faster media object loading in iStore

oUnderstand how caching media objects can improve the site performance and reduce the overhead oUnderstand how to cache media in a flexible way.

Proposed Solution • Caching Media Objects increases loading speed and improves overall robustness of your

iStore. Caching media objects will enable the customer to improve the site performance and reduce the overhead.

• By caching Media Objects, you realize:• Faster Media object loading• A reduction of database overhead• Media refresh time can be based on store level• Media can be removed from cache as needed• Flexible on/off caching• Easy to maintain and secure media objects• Easy to update media objects• Memory usage that is based on server level

• This solution provides the attractive opportunity for istore enabled organizations to increase the site performance and reduce the over head and improve the customer satisfaction.

Proposed Solution

Demo Solution

• Demo

iStore Summary• Oracle iStore enables the creation and maintenance of high quality web

stores which is based on Oracle Database with full integration with Oracle E-Business Suite 11i. Since Oracle iStore has look and feel of a website, it allows easier collaboration with customers, suppliers, distributors etc.

• Oracle iStore is fully integrated with Oracle Order Management. Oracle iStore use Java Server Pages (JSP) technologies to implement web features.

• Using same product database based on Oracle inventory, Oracle iStore provides development of different websites for different customers

iStore User interfaces

Site Administration Application:• The Site Administration Application allows site administrators to create and maintain multiple

sites, catalogs, and related business rules, as well as access business and operational reports.Administrative Application is used for• Create Unlimited Number of Sites• Setup Pricelists, Shipping Methods etc.• Build Product Catalog using Oracle Inventory• Change site look and Feel by selecting different Section Templates and Product Display

Templates• View and Configure Workflow notifications• View Business and Operational ReportsCustomer Application• This is the customer-facing application which features shopping carts and lists, cart sharing, a full

range of order taking and tracking capabilities, e-mail notifications of user events, quote retrieval and updates, marketing, guided selling, and more.

iStore Components

• Business Objects- The schema for storing customer orders, product catalog and presentation element (IBE & ASO Database Schema)

• Runtime Services & APIs- These include PLSQL and Java based APIs which manipulate the Business Objects (Data)

• Configurable Customer Application Templates- All customer application menus and pages are customizable using logical template names

• Processing and Routing Templates- In combination with display templates, these templates contain logic and appropriate business flows

• Oracle BLAF (Browse Look And Feel) compliant user interface for Administrative and customer application

Display Templates

• The bulk of the Customer Application display is presented through the hundreds of Display Templates that are seeded in Oracle iStore.

• Display Templates are of various types, depending upon which areas of the Customer Application they are meant to display. For example, some templates display the shopping cart pages, some display the catalog pages, and other templates display the order tracking pages.

• Each template used in the online sites links to a JSP which provides the actual display content. By mapping your own JSPs to the seeded templates, you can provide your own customized content in the sites.

Content Components and Media Objects• Oracle iStore’s content components and media objects are reusable

content placeholders in the seeded JSPs that allow you to define content for the Customer Application beyond that provided by section or product description information.

• This content can be image or html files that you associate with a section or product in order to provide your customers with additional information. It also can be text messages used to prompt or guide the user.

Deep Dive – Catalog and configuring the catalog display

To implement iStore

• You would create a customer site that any given customer has access to.• Each site has a catalog• Each catalog has sections• And each section displays products under it along with access to search

functionality.

Setting Up Home Page Tabsand Subtabs• Top-level sections of a site’s root node become tabs across the top of the

Site Home Page. • The second level sections become the subtabs across the top of the Site

Home Page.• The number of tabs and subtabs is controlled by these profile options:

• IBE: Number of Menu Tabs --- Specifies the number of menu tabs across the top of the Site Home Page.

Fixed layout:

Configurable Layout

A Display Template

• This choice determines which section elements (name, description, content components) display for each section and how the section looks.

• One template could show the section to display such that only the navigable subsections show up as links so that you can navigate:

Responsibilities Needed

• iStore Administrator - Required for Setup content, section, site, templates etc

• iStore Concurrent Program Administrator-Required for Execute concurrent programs for data refresh

• IBE_CUSTOMER :-Required for Placing Orders using iStore website• CRM HTML Administrator (with all available ROLES):-Required for Setting

business users and associate them to appropriate receivables account, Create Roles

• Application Developer:- Required for Setting message codes and message text

• Application Developer Common Modules (AK_DEVELOPER):-Setup regions, region items/attributes used for Post Sales (Order Tracking)

iStore Setup – Concurrent Programs

• Login as iStore Concurrent Program Manager• Execute Following Concurrent Programs

– iStore Search Insert (To Populate iStore Item Search Table)- Generally executed only once or for complete refresh

– iStore Section Search Refresh (Can be executed multiple times)

iStore Setup - Web Server

• Oracle iStore is a JSP based application hence there is a need of bouncing of Web Server for various occasions– Setting up defaulting rules in order management– Modifying text messages in oracle forms– Modifying lookups in oracle forms– Running Oracle Pricing Concurrent Programs, Building sourcing rules– Adding new items to inventory as well as attribute changes– Setting Site level profile options– Setting up discoverer reports– Applying Patches

iStore Customizations- Tips

• If User Interface requirements are not fulfilled by seeded templates the JSP customizations will be required.

• The new JSPs will be created based on seeded JSPs which will be attached to seeded Display Templates using Template Manager screen of iStore Administrative site

• To reflect any changes in JSPs, Item Attributes, Prices etc. Web server will have to be bounced.• To view source code of class files used in JSPs developer needs to have following tools

– Java Decompilers e.g.DJ Java Decompiler 3.9, Jcavaj , JSP editor like JDeveloper or even text editor editplus is sufficient

• To get information about JSP is getting displayed (which is not necessarily same as jsp name in URL) while using iStore site, use following steps– Copy the hard coded texts from JSP page e.g. field label etc.– Login to Oracle Applications as Application Developer and navigate to message maintenance screen– All hard codes labels/texts in iStore are store as Messages in Database with message code starting from

IBE%– Get the appropriate message code by querying messages screen– Login to UNIX and change directory to $COMMON_TOP/html– Use grep command to file given message code in iStore JSPs which will will give list of all JSPs containing

given message code e.g.• grep -l "IBE_YOUR_PRICE_COL" ibe*.jsp

Important TablesViews in iStore

Table/View Name Purpose

IBE_DSP_ATTACHMENTS_V 

Stores JSP names attached to various templates

IBE_CT_IMEDIA_SEARCH  Product Search 

IBE_SECTION_SEARCH  iStore Section information 

IBE_DSP_SECTION_ITEMS  Sections and Associated Items 

IBE_MSITE_INFORMATION  iStore Site Information 

ASO_QUOTE_HEADERS_ALL  iStore Order Header 

ASO_QUOTE_LINES_ALL  iStore Order Lines 

ASO_SHIPMENTS  iStore Order Shipment information 

FND_NEW_MESSAGES  All iStore hardcode messages 

Q & A

• Q & A