The Director is a Java servlet-based web site management framework running in an industry-standard J2EE application server environment.

Existing legacy or new applications can be packaged as simple components that, called from a web server, respond with XML tagged data. These are described to The Director as procedures.

The Director work-flow engine provides a frame director and a page director. The frame director manages frame set URLs and the page director manages individual page URLs.

Pipelines are used to transparently invoke procedures executed by either of the frameset or web page directors to determine page content, site navigation and to customise views dynamically for each individual user session.

The frame director is invoked via a URL and reads XML parameters from configuration files to dynamically construct a frame set in the user's browser. Frames may contain content called via HTTP or HTTPS. The browser invokes URL references for each frame to display content, which may be a flat page or a call to the page director.

• The page director reads XML configuration files to generate pages of two types:
• Static pages - for example XML, HTML or PDF documents
• Dynamic pages - that may include content derived from any source able to provide an XML response to an
• HTTP/HTTPS GET or POST request. This can include multiple applications, databases and web services displayed in one view.

Under the control of a pipeline configuration, The Director saves user input and manages the execution of procedures, providing the appropriate input to these procedures, storing as required the responses from the procedures, and directing the XML output through XSL and CSS transformations into HTML pages, WML pages, other XML, or other output formats as appropriate.

The Director is able to branch before or after any procedure in a pipeline, to handle invalid user input, different navigation paths, error processing, failure of backend processes or communications.

This example illustrates the Director in use as a portal to provide public access to selected data from a secure in-house production system used by a company to maintain client's account data. 

An existing application and database run on a secure server with firewall protection hosted at the company's head offices. The application is designed to process sensitive client data for use in the company's day to day business operations. The company has interstate branch offices that currently run local in-house systems.

A decision is made by the company to establish an online account inquiry service through its web site to enable visitors to request specific information on company services and existing clients to access account details and project future account returns. The company's marketing department has designed a concept web site that captures visitor's inquiries and can calculate what their accounts will return in the future. The site will include a news area featuring current company and industry-related news stories that will be updated regularly. As with most companies today, resources are budgeted carefully and the company decides to handle site maintenance internally, leave existing production systems in place, and to outsource hosting of the web site with their ISP.

The Director is chosen as the solution:

• The company's existing in-house application and database can remain protected and unchanged yet allow site users to make secure inquiries about their account.
• Web pages throughout the site can be generated dynamically based on users’ actions. Users’ views can be customised and stored and session details captured and reported.
• Company news items on the web site can be maintained and updated easily by the company's own administrative staff and industry-related stories can be filtered and piped directly from the newsgroup.
• The Director acts as the consolidator of data from the branches, to show a complete and customized picture to each user.
• The Director provides up-to-the-minute access with a web browser to the data from each branch, leaving the existing applications in place.
• No hosting platform restrictions exist.
• Site design is readily changeable by maintaining a single set of presentation rules.

The new site is a dynamic experience that is an extension of the company's existing business practice. It helps to maximise the effectiveness of their existing web presence. The company's previous investments are protected and systems consolidated and centralised. No significant financial outlay is involved and ongoing costs for the project are minimised.

As business partners embrace B2B transactions via XML, additional pipelines can provide this facility without requiring backend application redevelopment.