25 Introduction to Integrating and Publishing Content

Oracle WebCenter provides several ways to integrate content into a WebCenter Portal application. The method you choose is dependent on the requirements of the application and how you want to expose content to end users.

You can integrate content into a WebCenter Portal application using any of the following methods:

Content data controls. Use JCR adapters to enable read-only access to content in an Oracle Content Server, Oracle Portal, or SharePoint content repository, and maintain tight control over the way the content displays in a WebCenter Portal application. This functionality is available primarily for backward compatibility with prior releases, and for requirements outside the capability of Content Presenter or the Documents service and its task flows.
Content Management REST APIs. Use CMIS (Content Management Interoperability Services) REST APIs to surface and manage content in Oracle Content Server.
Content Presenter. Enables you to precisely customize the selection and presentation of content in a WebCenter Portal application. The Content Presenter task flow is available only when the connected content repository is Oracle Content Server and your WebCenter administrator has completed the prerequisite configuration. With Content Presenter, you can select an Oracle Site Studio file, a single item of content, multiple content items, query for content, or select content based on the results of a WebCenter Personalization Conductor scenario, and then select a template to render the content on a page in a WebCenter Portal application. Content Presenter has no dependency on the Documents service for adding or managing the content it displays.
Documents service. Provides several task flows that offer a variety of formats to display folders and files on a page. You can choose the task flows appropriate for your application to provide features for accessing, adding, and managing folders and files; configuring and viewing file and folder properties; and searching file and folder content in the connected content repositories. The Documents service task flows are available when the connected content repository is Oracle Content Server, Oracle Portal, or SharePoint, and your WebCenter administrator has completed the prerequisite configuration. Using Documents service task flows and document components (such as links, previews, and images), you can both add content to the application, and provide end users with content and Documents service task flows built into the application to manage, display, and search documents at runtime. The Documents service also supports wikis and blogs.

Table 25-1 provides a comparative overview of these methods to help you select the most appropriate method for your needs.

Table 25-1 Methods of Integrating Content into a WebCenter Portal Application

	Content Data Controls	Content Management REST APIs	Content Presenter	Documents Service
Repository	Oracle Content Server Oracle Portal SharePoint	Oracle Content Server	Oracle Content Server	Oracle Content Server Oracle Portal SharePoint
Content Types	Folders and content files.	Folders and content files with support for metadata properties.	Folders and content files with support for metadata properties. Supports Oracle Site Studio Region Definitions-based content.	Folders and content files. Oracle Content Server only: supports folder and content file metadata properties.
Content Display	Surface content using ADF render components: ADF Go Link, ADF Go Button, ADF Image, and ADF inline frame functions.	Surface content using REST APIs and custom client or server side application code. Surface content through single item selection, by folder, and by query results.	Task flow-based component intended primarily for rendering content. Surface content through single item selection, by folder, and by query results. Surface content in display templates: either built-in templates or custom display templates developed in JDeveloper. Reuse Oracle Site Studio display templates for Site Studio content. Supports WebCenter Personalization Services Conductor scenario (query results).	Task flow-based components intended primarily for collaborating and managing content. Oracle Content Server only: Document preview View links View images View file information (properties, version history) View metadata
Content Management	None.	Manage content using REST APIs and custom client or server side application code. Create, update, delete folders and content files and associated metadata fields.	In-context contribution editing for HTML and Site Studio content.	Manage content through graphical user interface. Create, update, delete folders and content files. Oracle Content Server only: Manage associated metadata properties Item-level security Oracle Workflow (WebCenter Spaces only) View metadata
Benefits	Standard JCR API integrates with many different content repositories.	Flexible REST-based APIs useful for client-side style development.	Flexible display using display templates. Oracle Site Studio support.	Choice of task flows to provide easy UI access to managing content.
Limitations	Read-only content. No Oracle Site Studio support.	Content must reside in Oracle Content Server repository. No Oracle Site Studio support.	Content must reside in Oracle Content Server repository.	No Oracle Site Studio support.

The following chapters provide information that you will need for any method you use:

"Managing Content Repositories" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle WebCenter to configure and manage content repositories used by WebCenter applications.
Chapter 26, "Configuring Content Repository Connections" to configure and edit content repository connections that provide access to decentralized content.

The following chapter provides information about using content data controls:

Chapter 27, "Configuring Content Data Controls for JCR Adapters" to use Java Content Repository (JCR) data controls to enable read-only access to any content repository.

The following manual provides information about using CMIS (Content Management Interoperability Services) REST APIs:

Oracle Fusion Middleware Content Management REST Service Developer's Guide

The following chapters provide information about using Content Presenter:

Chapter 28, "Creating Content Presenter Display Templates"
Chapter 30, "Adding Content Task Flows and Document Components to a Portal Page"
"Publishing Content Using Content Presenter" in Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Spaces to work with content at runtime in WebCenter applications.

The following chapters provide information about using the Documents service, which includes the Documents service task flows, document components (links, inline frames, and images), wikis, and blogs:

Chapter 29, "Integrating the Documents Service"
Chapter 30, "Adding Content Task Flows and Document Components to a Portal Page"
Chapter 31, "Integrating Wikis and Blogs"
"Working with the Documents Service Task Flows and Document Components" in Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Spaces to work with content at runtime in WebCenter applications.