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User Guide
The information contained in this section applies to IBM WebSphere Commerce Version 7.0.0.9 and Feautre Pack 8. The documentation also applies to all subsequent releases and modifications until otherwise indicated in new editions.
Developing
The topics in the Developing section describe tasks performed by an application developer.
Presentation layer
WebSphere Commerce uses Java Server Pages (JSP) to implement the view layer of the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern. The view layer is in charge of retrieving data from the database through the use of data beans and formatting it to meet the display requirements. The view layers determines whether the request is sent to a browser or streamed out as XML. JSP files present a clean separation between data content and presentation.
Customizing IBM Sales Center
In the IBM Sales Center for WebSphere Commerce there is a set of user interface panels, views and dialogs that contain the most commonly used features. You can add to or configure the user interface to suit your needs, as well as changing the content and format of the data that is passed between the client and the server.
IBM Sales Center development environment
The IBM Sales Center development environment is the recommended tool for creating IBM Sales Center customizations. The IBM Sales Center development environment is built on Rational Application Developer 7.5. In addition to Rational Application Developer, the IBM Sales Center development environment also requires that the IBM Sales Center client is installed.
Adding a plug-in
When customizing the IBM Sales Center, place all extensions in one or more plug-ins that you have created specifically for your customizations.

Adding a plug-in

When customizing the IBM Sales Center, place all extensions in one or more plug-ins that you have created specifically for your customizations.

About this task

To create a new plug-in for the IBM Sales Center workspace:

Procedure

Ensure that the current perspective is the Plug-in Development perspective. If it is not, then it can be selected from the Window->Open Perspective menu item.
Create a new plug-in project by clicking on the New button on the toolbar and selecting Plug-in Development -> Plug-in Project. This will launch the Plug-in Project wizard. Alternately, from the Eclipse File menu, launch the Plug-in Project wizard in the Eclipse environment.
Enter the required information, using the Eclipse platform documentation as a guide. The Project name for your plug-in should follow Java package conventions, for example: com.mycompany.salescenter.extensions.
Ensure you select the check box for Create an OSGi bundle manifest for the plug-in.
Click Next, validate the information, and then Finish.

Results

For more information about plug-ins, refer to the Eclipse platform documentation.