Steps to the Web for Synergy developers

Wondering what's involved in Web-enabling your Synergy application? Here are the basic steps you will complete on your way to the Web. (Note that some of these steps can be done in parallel.)

1. Decide what tasks you want to perform over the Web. What data do you want to access? What functionality do you want to provide? (Document these decisions in your requirements specifications.)

2. Define specifications for your Web site, for the Synergy methods (routines) your Web site will require, and for the API to these Synergy methods.

3. Decide what Web technology you will use for your Web solution and, if necessary, obtain appropriate third-party products. These will include

A Web server and a Web browser
For a Java solution: a Java Development Kit from Sun Microsystems, (optional) a Java development environment (e.g., Sun ONE Studio or Borland's JBuilder™), and (optional) a firewall
For a Microsoft .NET solution: Microsoft Visual Studio .NET and the .NET Framework SDK

Note that Synergy/DE also integrates with Web technologies based on COM, such as Active Server Pages. No additional third-party products are required for this type of solution because Microsoft provides the necessary tools with their systems.

4. Install your Synergy/DE products. These will include

Professional Series Workbench (or Professional Series Development Environment (PSDE) if you prefer to develop on Unix or OpenVMS) for developing Synergy methods
xfServerPlus and xfNetLink for connecting your Web site to your Synergy methods

5. If you will pass structures to your methods, define these structures in your Synergy/DE repository.

6. Create your Synergy methods by modularizing existing Synergy code and/or writing new code.

7. Define your Synergy methods in a Synergy Method Catalog (using Synergy/DE's Method Definition Utility).

8. Test your Synergy methods. You can generate "test skeletons" to get you started (with utilities in Workbench or PSDE).

9. Using Synergy/DE tools, generate a .NET assembly (if using xfNetLink .NET), a type library (if using xfNetLink COM), or a jar file (if using xfNetLink Java), from information you added earlier to your Synergy Method Catalog and repository.

10. Implement your Web site with your chosen Web development tool (FrontPage, WebObjects, etc.). Use the .NET assembly, type library, or jar file that you created in Step 9 to access your Synergy methods. (You may choose to have a Web developer start implementing the Web site while a Synergy developer is completing steps 4-8.)

11. Launch your new Web site to your users!