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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.
WebSphere Commerce integration with WebSphere Portal
You can integrate WebSphere Commerce, a Business Application Service with WebSphere Portal, an Interaction Service. The Interaction Service provides core portal services (WebSphere Portal) that aggregate applications and content and deliver them as role-based applications. The Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) pattern is used for communication, mediation, transformation and integration with external systems. Using an ESB to integrate the Web services exposed from WebSphere Commerce to the WebSphere Portal promotes a loosely coupled design where the ESB manages the interactions styles between the WebSphere Commerce services and the presentation layer. You do not need to alter your presentation layer to support the protocol and format used by the WebSphere Commerce services. Instead, you rely on the ESB to perform tasks such as message transformation and protocol mediation. Neither WebSphere Commerce nor WebSphere Portal needs to change in order to communicate with one another. The ESB is used to act as an interpreter between the two systems and will translate the messages into a format the receiving system understands.
Integrating WebSphere Commerce Extended Sites with WebSphere Portal
In a complex business environment, an enterprise needs to have multiple strategies to make its products available to customers. To ensure business success, an enterprise must present many faces to the market, and each face is perceived by customers as a unique site.
Synchronizing WebSphere Portal access control with WebSphere Commerce roles
It is covered how WebSphere Portal restricts user access by using Realm with Virtual Portal, and as well on how WebSphere Portal maintains resource level access control using role type assignment. This access right control now relates to the WebSphere Commerce roles and organization hierarchy.
Portal Role
A role combines a set of allowed actions with specific WebSphere Portal resources. This set of allowed actions is called a role type. For example, the role type Editor contains allowed actions like view resources, modify resources, and create new resources.

Portal Role

A role combines a set of allowed actions with specific WebSphere Portal resources. This set of allowed actions is called a role type. For example, the role type Editor contains allowed actions like view resources, modify resources, and create new resources.

Roles are denoted as RoleType@Resource. For example, the Editor role type combined with the Top Category Page resource results in the role Editor@Top Category Page. For more information, see Resource level access control.

As the following figure illustrates, roles are organized in a hierarchy. Each role type contains all allowed actions that are contained in the role types directly beneath it in the hierarchy. For example, Privileged Users and Editors can do everything that Users can do. Managers can do everything that Editors and Users can do.

Portal Role diagram

Therefore, by properly assigning roles, such as User@Top Category Page, to WebSphere Portal resources, like Virtual Portal A Authenticated Users member group, it is possible to create a personalized navigation experience by user segments. This indeed is the most basic form of personalization – to provide view access to a set of pages, portlets, documents, and Web content to a group of users. For more information about how to assign role types, see Setting resource permissions.